Dear Casanova
by Year of the dog
Summary: AU.In all her life of jumping foster homes, she had never expected that the cycle would end with her enrolled in an all-boys boarding school. Nor did she expect her roommate to bear such a close resemblance to her childhood pen pal. Eventual Ryouji/FeMC
1. Dude Looks Like a Lady

_I know, oh lord do I know, that this isn't exactly original. In fact, this is probably one of the most clichéd, overused, and horribly mistreated plots the fanfic world has to offer. But I, as of yet, haven't tried my hand at abusing it. So I figured, 'Why the hell not?' That and well, I really wanted to write an AU fic that I would actually make into something not completely angst-ridden. (After all, we've seen how my take on this couple is for the most part in their original setting.) And honestly I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with this. So here we are! My (not so) lovely gender-bending boarding school fic, that is a mess of strange and predictable wrapped up into one. I'm going to also say that I'm planning on making all the chapter names song titles. Because a clichéd and unoriginal plot, needs all the clichéd and unoriginal accessories it can get. _

Disclaimer: Even in a completely separate universe I don't own this game, nor any of it's characters. Sad life, I know.

**Dear Casanova**

_Dude (Looks Like a Lady)_

It had all started as a joke.

Honestly, she really had had no intentions whatsoever in going through with Junpei's plan. The only reason she had went along with it in the beginning was _because _it was a joke. At least she had thought so anyway.

Riichi Arisato had not planned on being accepted into St. Hermelin's School for Exceptional Boys. (Thinking back on it, her real aversion to coming might actually have been the fact that she really didn't want to go to a school where the very name was a snob-filled mouthful.) It wasn't that she was ungrateful; really this was the opportunity she had been longing for since she was running around in shorts and riding tricycles. It was a chance to, for once, stay put for a while, possibly until she was out of high school and off on her own somewhere. Something that would have helped greatly since she was now a junior and only had two years left to go. The problem with this all though was that she wasn't really exceptional -at least she hadn't thought she was- and she wasn't a boy.

It was hard to go to a school for boys when one lacked a particularly crucial part of the anatomy.

But for some reason -which she attributed to her name and the fact that the old couple had made sure she sounded manly in the application- even without the Y chromosome, she had been accepted. Not only accepted, but given a full-ride scholarship. That was like shouting at someone, '_Come to my damn school!'_ Obviously she was wanted. So it wasn't as much of a surprise when not only Junpei jumped on it (and really why wouldn't he? He was rather lacking in foresight along with common sense.) but her foster parents had as well.

Now let it be said that she wasn't a problem child. In all honesty, everyone who had their chance with her had nothing but praise for her cheerful and generally likeable disposition. The reason she had been thrown from family to family since the tender age of eight, was because she had the uncanny ability to get stuck with people who were unable to financially support another human being, let alone a child. Obviously the Japanese social services wasn't screening like they used to. At least not in her case anyway.

When it was discovered that she would be able to stay, she couldn't really fault the poor older-aged couple who had been saddled with her for forcing her to accept. They were nice people, loved her to death, so of course they would want her to stick around. She supposed to the point of having no qualms in committing felony and lying to both a private institution and the government about her real gender.

What she could do, however, was glare venomously at the boy across the table from her.

Junpei looked giddier than a kid on Christmas. He looked so happy that she thought if someone had just gunned down his dog in front of him he wouldn't have batted an eye. (Then again, perhaps that was too 'strong' a metaphor.) Grinning like a fool he twirled the same french-fry he had been holding for the past ten minutes in his ketchup before addressing her once more. "Dude this is so cool!" the boy exclaimed. "Just think of it Reech, we're gonna be classmates for once."

The girl looked unamused. She had her arms rested on the table, right elbow propped up in order to rest her cheek on her closed fist. She clamped her mouth back over the straw and gave a rather violent slurp of her milkshake before answering at all. "Has it occurred to you once that I'm not exactly supposed to be there?" she asked, speaking through teeth still clamped around the plastic of the straw.

There might have been a flicker of confusion from the boy, before he batted it away. "So what?" was his answer. "You act like half the guys I know," to which she bristled viciously, "no one'll ever notice."

"Until I take my shirt off in gym and they notice I have an unnaturally full chest," she muttered. He blatantly ignored her.

"Besides you're benefiting too aren't ya? I mean this way you'll get to stick around for a while longer." She really couldn't argue with that. The whole reason she had even listened to his proposal of boarding school in the first place was so she wouldn't have to relocate again. But honestly wasn't this taking it a bit too far? "And you know," Junpei interrupted her thought process. "Being around guys all the time. Maybe you'll find yourself a future husband."

Any thoughts she had that he might have held some sense fluttered out the window. His signature grin and wiggling eyebrows were not helping his cause either. "Junpei, unless he's gay, I really doubt that'll happen. Even if I do, don't you think he'll be a little freaked out when he finds out I'm not exactly packing down there?" Riichi gestured under the table. This action was enough to elicit a few gasps from mothers, and several giggles from the surrounding children. Other than the brief thought that being so vulgar in a family restaurant might not be the best idea, she didn't notice at all.

Junpei hadn't noticed either because all he did was shrug. "You're making this out to be a lot more dramatic then it is," he chided her. "Look, if you join a sport or get into one of the special programs you won't have to take gym. In fact most kids don't." Oh _that_ certainly made her feel better. So not only was she supposed to get flak for getting a full-ride, but she also might have to take a few beatings for being one of the lonely nerds in gym class? Exceptional boys' school or not, all guys were the same.

Determined to convince someone, _anyone _else that this was a horribly stupid idea, Riichi went on to list several other reasons why she shouldn't go. "What about my hair? I'm not cutting it. And how I look?"

"Just wear a wig, if you do it right no one'll notice. And you can just play it off as if you're a really pretty boy."

She bit her lip in agonized frustration. "My voice and the way I talk?"

Junpei snorted in laughter. "You remember that one time we crank called my roommate? And how he honestly thought you were some guy in the yakuza? Obviously you know how to talk like a boy, just make your voice gruffer than usual."

"My chest? That's not exactly something that most guys have. Normal ones anyway." This time she was positive she had gotten him. So sure of herself she was, Riichi grinned and leaned back cockily against the seat. "What do you have to say to that?"

The boy cocked an eyebrow before shrugging. "Well, you're not that big anyway. Just bind it and you should be okay."

Riichi felt her mouth drop. Oh god he did _not _just say that! The sheer audacity! She once more bristled, offended, astonished, and altogether defensive. "S-s-s-so what if it's not!" she snarled. "I'm not flat! Is that what you're insinuating! I'm an ironing board!" She had gotten herself so worked up by now that by the time she had finished her rant she was panting heavily.

Junpei didn't show any signs of being moved by anything she had just said. He shoved a french-fry in his mouth and chewed uninterestedly for a few moments while she caught her breath. "I thought we were talking about why you couldn't go to my school, not how ridiculously small your chest was."

The girl flared up once more before deflating. It just wasn't worth it. It didn't matter anymore that Junpei was obviously blind, nor that she was now honestly wondering if she was actually that small. (But if she was so small, who the hell was he comparing her to? A life-size Barbie?) She hunched over the table, once more grabbing hold of her milkshake and dejectedly sipping it. "So," Riichi started. "If we're really going through with this, then we need to figure out my rooming situation."

Once more a giddy grin erupted on Junpei's face. "That's the spirit!" he cried. Never mind the fact that at the moment she looked anything but excited. "I've got it covered. This is foolproof man, there's no way anyone will ever figure it out." She gave him a look that screamed 'Get on with it'. He did as she suggested with pleasure. "We'll just room together." Riichi was too surprised to do anything but stare wide-eyed at him. "We can't go wrong," the boy assured. "I already know you're a chick. I can monitor when my friends come in so that you won't get surprised one day. You won't have to be all sneaky with your 'chick stuff' while I'm around. It's simple."

Riichi closed her eyes for a moment to collect herself. She sucked in a small breath before letting it out and speaking. "Junpei," she began, waiting for his full attention to continue. "You know I love you right? We're buddies, we're pals. We're the best friends one can be. Which is why I'm going to have to say, No. Way. In Hell."

This proclamation was enough to make his face fall. "What? Why!" was his whined resistance.

"Because I'm not stupid you moron," she hissed back. "You're forgetting that I _know you._ I have spent the last fourteen months listening to all your stories about trying to hook up and copping feels. Do you honestly think I'm going to do something idiotic enough as let my guard down around you? If you think I'm letting you anywhere near me when I'm defenseless you've got another thing coming."

He really did look sincerely hurt, but honestly he deserved everything she had just said. To think the boy would honestly believe she'd fall for that. Riichi knew she wouldn't be in any real danger, but she knew Junpei far too well to think he would actually let a chance like that go.

"I'll just get a single," she finally decided. Since her little explanation Junpei had converted to sulking over his half-eaten burger and barely-touched fries. She had little mercy for the boy who had not only gotten her into such a predicament in the first place, but was now trying to make it even worse for her. Good intentions or not, Junpei would have to learn the hard way that she wasn't to be trifled with. "If they gave me the scholarship, then they'll probably want to make me as comfortable as possible right? Then a single shouldn't be that hard to get."

For some reason this got him out of his funk. The boy sat up straight, fixed the lid of his cap, and shook his head in the negative. "Sorry, but I doubt that'll go how you want it to." When she gave him a look that angrily asked why, he continued on. "You see, the only ones that get that privilege are seniors and full-payers. Besides, the point of the scholarship is to bring in kids who normally wouldn't be exposed to this kind of environment. What's going to happen is that you're going to get a roommate who's probably really rich, and really popular. They play it off as a 'show of good fellowship'." He found his spark again, and was now smirking quite maliciously. "And that, my friend, is what's going to happen to you. Living with me doesn't sound so bad now does it?"

Riichi could do nothing more than moan. She let her head drop to rest on the table and lost the energy to do all else. "Why the hell do I ever listen to you?" she finally managed out, muttering it into the plastic of the table.

All the response she got was Junpei's mocking cackle.

oOo

_Dear Pharos,_

_I'm sorry to hear about your roommate leaving. You said it was due to the fact that his family was moving to Germany? That's really far away, they must be rich huh? You're getting a new one this year right? I can't imagine you rooming by yourself, it would be like me living without any access to ramen. I'm sure they'll be just as good as your last one. Plus, I don't see how anyone couldn't like you. It must be interesting to go to a boarding school. You get to have your independence while still not being totally on your own. That was weird wasn't it? Sorry about that._

_Remember when I told you there was a chance I would move again? Well, I'm happy to say that I'm staying put for a while longer. It's exciting! The old couple were really happy when they found out I wouldn't have to leave too. The way we're allowing me to stay though worries me. I'm now to be attending a boarding school as well. It's located pretty close to their house, so I won't have to move far away, and I'll still get to live with them during long breaks. That joker I told you about, 'J', he's all excited about it. It was his idea in the first place actually. He's proposed that we have some kind of party with everyone else to celebrate my escape from another relocation. I think he's being really overdramatic about this whole thing, but hey, you got to give the guy props for caring so much. _

_Well, I know it's shorter than usual, but I really have to finish packing. I'm moving in, in about four days or so. I just really wanted to get this out to you, or else it might have been another week before I was able to write back. _

_Can't wait to hear back from you soon,_

_Orpheus_

_P.S. I know that I'll find out about mine before you can get back to me on it, but how are your baths? They're not public are they?_

oOo

Baggage? Check. Room assignment? Check. Keys to room? Check. Male ensemble? Check. Smiling face that doesn't scream you're obviously hiding something? Hopefully check.

Riichi made her mental list as she stood outside the door. The hallway was well-lit, carpeted a rather nice royal blue, and was generally clean. You would have never expected a bunch of boys to live here. (She certainly wouldn't have. Living with four stepbrothers for a few months had taught her well the general hygiene of teenage boys.) As she stood there, staring at the bronze plaque that read '306', she wondered if she could really do this. While the fact that she was to be living among boys for the next two years -unless she got caught, but that was a possibility she didn't have the stomach to consider at the moment- had always been firmly engrained in her mind, it was just now hitting her that she was not only living among boys, but _rich,_ rather well-rounded boys.

(Junpei, she had found out in the first few weeks of their acquaintance, was neither of these. His great-grandfather had apparently been an alumni of the school, and had donated a great amount of money to it at one point in time. So when he had applied they had jumped at the chance to repay old favors, despite that fact that Junpei was pretty much as middle-class as the average joe, and certainly didn't have anything to bring to the table in the brains department. He hadn't seemed too torn up about it though. In fact he had once used this as an example of why connections were so necessary to have.)

The girl swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, and briefly wondered if maybe she should just turn around, walk back through the entranceway, and pretend that none of this had ever happened. She would bow to her at-present parents, chant all the apologies in the world, and tell them that it was simply not meant to be. Yes, this sounded like a marvelous plan.

Before she could even manage to shift her foot in order to turn, the door in front of her swung open. It was all Riichi could do not to scream as shrilly, and thus as girly, as possible. Her hands clutched fiercely at the shoulder-strap of her bag, and she stared wide-eyed at the figure who had emerged in the now-open door. What greeted her was a shock of raven-black hair.

The boy looked up in a surprised daze, clearly not expecting anyone to be standing in his doorway. This gave her time to examine him. He was about a head taller than she, and skinnier than most boys their age. His skin was a pale white, and combined with his size she would have thought he might have been sickly had it not been for his eyes. They were colored a deep azure blue, and filled with intense life. For a moment all she was able to do was stare into them and wonder how someone could be so bright.

And then his confusion was replaced by a blindingly bright smile. "Oh, you must be Kitamura-san!" he chirped. It took her a moment to realize he was addressing her. It had been so long since she had heard herself referred to by her adoptive family name that she hadn't been prepared for it. "I've been waiting to meet you, come on in," he moved to the side of the doorway, motioning for her to enter along with him. Riichi hesitated for a moment, unsure of whether or not this was a good idea. "Don't be shy, I won't bite. I promise." With that declaration the boy once more gave a wave of his hand and she decided it was probably best not to make him mad. But then again, with that smile it was hard to think of this boy as ever having been angry a day in his life.

Doing as she was told, Riichi reluctantly made her way inside. Her grip on the strap became that much tighter and she honestly felt like a deer-in-headlights. When she heard the door swing shut behind her, it was almost like a sign of finality. It was as if they were signifying that there was no turning back anymore. She was here to stay.

"Your bed is on the left," he interrupted her thoughts. She looked up to see him pointing towards the bed in question. "And most of your stuff has already been brought up, it's those boxes right over there right?"

The girl gave a start as she looked over to where he pointed next. Sure enough, those were unmistakably her boxes. The 'Make us Proud' written all over the sides of them were proof enough that the old couple had indeed marked them. When the boy saw her face he chuckled amiably. "Um, sorry," she muttered. "Parents are a little, strange to say the least." She gave a forced laugh and tried not to look mortified. She was unfortunately failing at both.

"Well would you like me to help you unpack?" He apparently was either oblivious to her discomfort, or was looking for a way to help her out. Either way, she was grateful all the same.

Riichi nodded almost mechanically and threw her bag on the foot of the bed. That was manly right? Showing unconcern for one's belongings? "Only if you want to," was her gruff response as she rolled up her sleeves in preparation. With that display, she made her way over to the boxes and looked them over. It was probably best for her to survey them and see what she needed to unpack first. Doing this in all in one night would be an unnecessary chore.

"Should we unpack this one first?" the boy asked from beside her. She gave a start, not having noticed he had already started on her stuff. The girl peered over to see what it was he had. "It says 'Important', so that probably means you're going to need it right?" He was right, the box did have '_Important' _scrawled across the top in big block letters. There was a definite reason for that though.

"That's alright," she assured him, laughing nervously. "I'll um, get that myself later." She snatched the box from him, almost toppling over at how heavy it was before she was able to properly distribute the weight and stagger over to throw it haphazardly under her bed. It was important, oh lord it was important. But unfortunately for roomie boy over there, he would never get to see it. If he did there would be some serious questions about what was up with the strange new boy in his room, for in that box she had packed all of her feminine items.

When she returned to her position in front of the wall of boxes, she was surprised to see the boy's reaction. Rather than being offended by her conduct, he looked rather worried about her. "Are you sure you want me to help?" he asked. "If you're uncomfortable with me, I can leave or something."

Hit by a pang of guilt, Riichi shook her head furiously. "No, no no, it's okay really. You're fine, I'm just on edge is all. I've never really done this before." She gave another laugh, trying to prove just how fine she was with the whole thing. Unfortunately all it really did was make him look more worried. "Well, anyway," she continued, "If you open those boxes over there and mark what's in them that would be helpful. I would have done it back home, but I kind of had to do this all in a hurry. I'll see what I need to unpack now when we're done with it."

The boy nodded, a look of fierce determination overcoming his face. "I've got a few sharpies, I'll get you one too," he said as she strode over to his desk and grabbed the said utensils. He distributed hers with a smile, and then went off to do as she had instructed. After a few moments of sneaking glances at him from her own work, she was surprised to note how diligent this boy was.

In fact he was rather strange altogether. She had been expecting her new roommate to either be some poster boy for formality, or a prime example of what large amounts of wealth can do to a person. She was pleasantly surprised to figure out that was not the case. Riichi had known that not all rich-boys were like that -Junpei being a prime example; though he wasn't really rich he was still in the environment- but she hadn't expected to find an odd one so soon.

"Oh, I'm Ryouji Mochizuki."

She felt her neck snap up as she lifted her gaze quickly. With confused eyes she took in his smiling face and outstretched hand. "I don't believe I actually introduced myself. You can call me Ryouji if you would like."

The girl stood there for a few moments in a stunned stupor. He didn't seem to find this strange, and rather waited a few moments before holding his hand out further. This action shook her out of whatever it was she was in, and Riichi found herself hastily snatching at his hand. It was rather warm, and contrary to his appearance, somewhat rough. She didn't have the time to think about how nice his hands were though, she needed to stop acting like some terrified middle-schooler. "Riichi Ari-Kitamura," she answered back, ignoring the look he gave her at her mess-up. It was times like these that she was glad the orphanage had been strange enough to give her a rather boyish name. It was going to be so much easier now that she didn't have to respond to something else. Having to answer to 'Kitamura' was already going to be a chore.

Ryouji's smile did the impossible by brightening. "Do you have any siblings Riichi-kun?" She must have looked rather confused by the question because he went on to say. "Well, the kanji in your name reads first advantage right? I just thought maybe you had a younger brother or something."

Her mouth formed an 'o' and she made a sound of understanding. "No, well, I'm an only child. I think."

"You think?"

She ignored him in favor of continuing. "My first name comes from a particular event in my life. I'll explain it all someday." He seemed to catch on to the fact that she'd really rather not have anything to do with the topic because he himself gave a look of comprehension before returning to his work. It wasn't that the subject was painful or anything, she had long ago stopped caring about the fact that she was named because she was one of the first children the orphanage had found and attempted to adopt out. (It was rather strange knowing that her orphanage was almost brand new. In books one always was granted a picture of a dilapidated, old building that was standing on it's last legs financially and had been around for ages.) What she didn't care for was the looks of concern and the being handled with kid-gloves when people found out she was an orphan. Really, their unnecessary concern was often suffocating. Besides, Ryouji didn't want to hear her sob story any more than she wanted to tell it.

"Oh, by the way Riichi-kun," the boy once again entered her thoughts. She looked up to see him closing the lid of the box and penning the contents on the one of the cardboard folds. "I hope you don't mind me saying, but you're a rather pretty boy."

Her face fell. "Yeah. I've been told that."

* * *

_There will be more clarification on the whole pen pal thing next chapter. I swear. So if you're confused by it (though probably not by who's writing to whom) be patient for a bit kay?_


	2. I Like a Boy in Uniform

_Thank you all for the support I've gotten so far. I'm glad to know that despite it being such an overdone plot it's actually liked. As promised, some things about the pen pal and Riichi's(FeMC's) situation are made clear. (Since I did a generally horrible job of doing that in the first chapter.) I'm also going to note that I had to change her adopted surname to fix an inconsistency I just found out about. Have already fixed it in the first chapter. Minor detail though, so it shouldn't throw anyone off yet. Well, I hope to get feedback on this chapter as well, and enjoy._

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* * *

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**_I Like a Boy in Uniform_**

The boxes had taken long. Not _long _long, but still long enough that by the time they were finished Riichi was dreading ever seeing a cardboard box again in her life. (After getting halfway done, they had just decided 'to hell with it all' and had finished unpacking the rest.) It didn't help that she was carrying the knowledge that at the end of her stay, she would have to undo all of their hard work, and the boxes would be back to mock her once more.

"Good lord," she sighed as she collapsed back on her bed.

Ryouji chuckled from his side of the room. "You know, you got a lot done for such a short amount of time," he tried reassuring her. It worked until she remembered that he had done about sixty percent of it.

Riichi merely sighed again and rolled over to lay on her stomach. She twisted her neck to face the boy. "Is this how it was when you moved in?" she asked.

He gave a short nod. "Well, I did most of it alone, but yeah this is pretty much it," his laughter did nothing to ease her worries. In fact he had only made her feel guilty since he had to do all of his stuff alone, and then help her out too. Then she reminded herself that he had offered, and when one offers they had no right to complain about anything. The squeak of wheels filled the air and Riichi looked back up in time to watch the boy seat himself at his desk. He pulled out a piece of paper, wrote a sentence, and then paused.

"So," the girl started, feeling awkward all of a sudden. "This your first year too?" If she was going to be living with him all year, she was going to have to get comfortable with him. While she wasn't awkward with guys, it was an entirely different matter when you were living amongst them.

Ryouji looked up, cheerful smile still in place. "Oh, no actually. I was here as a freshman as well. I've actually been going to boarding school since I was ten."

Riichi stared at him. "Ten?" she repeated intelligently. He just nodded. "That's like what, seven years?"

"Six actually."

All she could do right then was stare. Six years of boarding school? That was like, four years of never seeing your parents right? Roughly calculated of course. And actually that was only if you went home for every break. Riichi had to give the boy props. Being that cheery while having to live away from home for so long was an outstanding feat. Yeah, she was kind of a special case too, but unlike her roommate she didn't exactly have a home to go back to. Metaphorically speaking of course.

He cocked his head, reminding her that she was still in the middle of a conversation. "Is it that weird?" he asked.

Riichi flushed and failed at shaking her head in the negative, thanks in part to the fact that her cheek was jammed up against her mattress. "Well, no, I just, well, you know, I'm not…" she trailed off. Oh god this was embarrassing. Not even a day in and she was already on the verge of making her roommate hate her. Or at the least making herself out to be an ass.

"Wait, Riichi-kun, are you the scholarship student?"

She nodded hesitantly. Was he going to think she was all self-righteous and snobby now that he knew? Maybe she could just play it all off as a joke if that was the case.

Ryouji just smiled wider and nodded. "Ah, I get it now," he said, lightly smacking his fist into his open palm in comprehension. "You're not used to this kind of lifestyle. Sorry about that, it's just, how the rich work I guess."

Oh yeah. He was rich.

This wasn't enough to actually make her feel better, but she was slightly calmed with the knowledge that she wasn't going to get her ass kicked. At least she didn't think she was anyway. Riichi sighed, shoved her worries in the back of her mind, and rolled over on her back. She really needed to stop worrying over things. Everything would be just fine if she started acting normal again.

From his position at his desk she heard him scribble something, erase, scribble again, and then lean back in distress. Riichi thought about asking, but then wondered if maybe that was too personal. Did guys normally ask about stuff like that? She snorted, and grasped for something else to talk about. "Where were you going earlier?" was what she finally settled on.

"Pardon?" Ryouji looked back up at her. Still smiling, she noted, despite his obvious confusion.

"You know," she started, marveling at how intelligent that sounded because he obviously _didn't _know. "When I came in. You were going somewhere right?"

He made a sound of understanding and nodded his head. "Ah, yes. Well I was, simply going to check my mail, I suppose." He laughed and scratched the side of his jaw, and Riichi briefly wondered if there wasn't a trace of nervous embarrassment in his voice.

She shrugged it off and decided it wasn't really something she needed to ponder about. Riichi yawned and felt herself curl up into the mess of pillows she had haphazardly thrown onto her bed. She mumbled incoherently (but the boy might have made out a sleepy 'good night') before she lost consciousness.

Ryouji placed his elbow on his desk and rested his chin on his fist. His gazed at the perceived boy and a small smile fluttered across his features. "Well, he's certainly interesting," he chuckled amiably.

oOo

She knocked once, twice, then clasped her hands behind her back and awkwardly twiddled her thumbs in wait. The few boys who did pass her all gave her strange looks, and Riichi found herself surprisingly self-conscious. Perhaps they could see through her. If so, then wasn't it kind of sad that she had barely been here a day and was already found out? She was reassured by the fact that as of yet no one had said anything to her, and she had spent the whole night and roughly a good three hours this morning with her roommate, who hadn't showed any indication he suspected anything.

Riichi sighed, unhooked her hands and brought her right arm up to knock sharply against the door again. This time she allowed her right hand to fall limply to her side and shoved her left in her pocket. (This was much more manly.) The girl found herself wondering if maybe she had gotten the wrong room, and lifted her gaze to recheck the name plaques again. Correction, name plaque. The girl turned boy felt her expression fell and she leveled her gaze angrily at the door in front of her. By the rustling and banging going on from within, she wouldn't have to wait much longer.

The door eased open, revealing a slightly disgruntled Junpei. The boy looked particularly confused before his face light up in recognition. "Oh hey Reech!" he cried. "Never expected to see you so soon. What's up?"

"Care to explain?" was her deadpanned response.

The boy's face fell into confusion. "Nice to see you to," he snorted.

Riichi's arm shot up to point accusingly at the lone name plaque next to his door. "Explain," she ground out.

Junpei's gaze followed her arm and when he saw what she was pointing at he nodded. "Ah yeah, well come in anyway." His grin erupted right back and cheerfully snatched her raised arm to drag her inside. Because of her surprised resistance, Riichi tumbled in after him with all the grace and poise of a lame wildebeest.

Junpei deposited her in the middle of the room, and then went about pushing boxes out of the way. The girl was slightly pleased to note that she had completed this far quicker and with generally less chaos than the boy was doing. In fact Junpei looked as if he hadn't really unpacked anything. His room was littered with boxes, all of which looked as if they hadn't even been touched yet. What little had been unpacked was strewn about the room in such a haphazard fashion that she was sent wondering if maybe he wasn't exactly sure what to do with it.

"Want to help?" Riichi's gaze shot up to focus on the boy. He was currently rooting through one of the boxes and didn't even stop to look up for her reaction.

"Why?" was all she could come up with. Did he really expect she'd want any part in this train wreak?"

This did get him to look up. Junpei just looked confused. "Why?" he echoed. "Don't all girls like this kind of stuff. Homemaking and everything."

Riichi could do nothing more than stare at him stupidly. Had fourteen months not prepared her for how idiotic the guy could be? She sighed, waved it off halfheartedly, and decided to move on. "Your general sexism isn't getting you out of answering my question," she told him, crossing her arms over her chest in an attempt to look more menacing.

Junpei looked up again and made a face before returning to whatever it was he was doing. "You sure you don't want to like, do my decorating or something?"

God she couldn't take much more of this. "Why don't _you_ have a roommate?" she hissed.

The boy looked green. "Well, you see," he began, laughing nervously. "Remember when I told you great granddad was pretty well respected? Apparently they decided that it was fine for me to get a single. Wild right?" he laughed again, gaining courage with each word he spoke.

"But you had a roommate last year!" she half whined half hissed.

A shrug was all the apology she got. "I guess that was just because I was a sophomore. Who'da thunk?"

Riichi positively glowered at him. "I outta throttle you," she snarled under her breath.

Junpei either didn't hear her or was simply just ignoring her because he shouted in triumph and pulled a large object out of the box. "I found it!" he shouted, holding the thing above his head. "My personal Pop-Pop Popcorn Maker 2000!" The girl's glare turned into what could only be described as a stunned stare. Junpei brought the popcorn maker with the strange name down to hug against his chest. "I've been looking for you all morning," he declared, sounding completely mystified.

Her gaze became even more confused. Riichi blinked a few times, shook her head, and wondered if maybe she should just go. This was obviously not helping her out. Her new plan was thwarted and forgotten when Junpei addressed her again.

"So, how's you're roommate? You like him?"

She gave a noncommittal shrug and a half nod. "Mm, yeah."

Junpei looked rather doubtful. "That's all? You sound like he's a real drag. Man I need some details. Cough it up." He lovingly placed his popcorn machine down before advancing on her. She sniffed as he sat down on the edge of his bed and pulled her down next to him. Riichi squirmed uncomfortably for a few minutes, fighting the urge to stand back up. It was a place to sit, but Junpei hadn't made his bed at all and she wasn't really sure how long ago his sheets had been washed. Just thinking about what might be on them was making her vastly uncomfortable.

"Well," she began with, trying her best to ignore any disturbing thoughts that were entering her mind. "He's nice. I mean really nice. He helped me unpack all of my stuff last night, and then even went so far as to help me rearrange it. He was really cool after learning that I'm the scholarship student too. Didn't make any 'nerd' cracks or anything, and actually was pretty understanding about the whole 'I'm-not-rich' thing." She shrugged and pulled one knee up to her chest to lean her chin on. Actually Ryouji was sounding better with every word she said.

Junpei snorted, "He sounds like a pansy." With his curiosity appeased his attention wandered away from her to more interesting things. Riichi just marveled at how just that had made Junpei categorize the boy so quickly. She watched in awe as he picked himself up off the bed and went back to trying to set up the flame-red popcorn machine.

Riichi eventually rolled her eyes and leaned back. All thoughts of what might be lurking in the threads of his sheets long gone by now. "I bet Pharos would be happier that I'm living with a nice guy than someone like you," she commented.

The boy paused before looking up at her. "Who?"

She felt her jaw drop before glaring at him in offense. "My pen pal!" she hissed. "I've told you like, fourteen times who he is!"

"You mean you told your pen pal you were going to an all-boys school?" He looked positively skeptical of the very thought of it.

Riichi made a face and shook her head. "Not to an all-boys school. Just to a boarding school. I'm not going to do something as stupid as leaking information that can get me in serious trouble. Just having you know is risky enough."

He completely ignored her in favor of snorting. "What kind of name is Pharos?" he chuckled.

The girl sighed, rolled her eyes. This was simply exhausting. "It's his pen name," she informed him. "Since we were just kids when we started writing, the orphanage decided it would be best if we didn't leak out personal information. I guess they figured pen names would be safe or something." She shrugged and a small smile fluttered across her face. "It's been about eight years, I'm surprised we've never revealed our real names."

Junpei let out another laugh and ignored her responding glare. "So the dude's never asked you to meet up with him or something? Man, he's either got no sex drive whatsoever, or you're just not that important to him."

Riichi's eyes widened before she bristled viciously. She felt her hand reach back and snatched one of his pillows before mercilessly chucking it at the boy. Junpei yelped as it smacked him square in the side of the head and made him fall over. "Don't talk about him like that!" she barked when he had finally gotten his bearings about him. "He's a lot cooler than you'll ever be!"

"What the hell man!" he snarled back. "You've got a lot of nerve girly!"

Their antics were hushed at once when there was a tentative knock and the door eased open. A rather familiar face peeked in, accompanied by a soft, "Am I disturbing anything?"

Riichi's red eyes locked with the intruder's blue ones, and the two stared at each other for a few moments. Finally the boy stepped in and cocked his head in surprise. "Riichi-kun?"

The girl found herself pointing at the boy in confusion. "Ryouji-san? What are-"

"Ryouji!" she was cut off by Junpei's cry of delight. "What's up man? I didn't know you were back already." He jumped up and ran over to capture Ryouji in a headlock.

The other boy responded with a rather startled yelp, and other than a short display of resistance he looked generally used to the whole thing. "Ah, Junpei-kun, you're the same as always," Ryouji chuckled. He sucked in a more sufficient supply of air as he was released. "How have you been?"

"Great!" If Junpei got any louder, the guys in the next room would have been able to hear this whole conversation.

Riichi bit her lip and played the scenario back in her mind, even as it was continuing out in front of her. This was just too weird. How was it possible that Ryouji would show up here of all places? He wasn't stalking her was he? This thought brought a light gasp out of her and the girl found herself suddenly forcing herself into the conversation. "Ryouji-san, what are you doing here?"

The boy turned his gaze to her and perked up. "Why, I've been rather good friends with Junpei-kun since last year. We hang out all the time." Riichi found herself nodding in comprehension. Of course it was like that. They went to the same school, it wasn't strange that they knew each other. Her whole thought process from earlier was simply ridiculous. "May I ask how you know him Riichi-kun?"

Riichi found herself struggling for words. She hadn't expected to be questioned so soon on her relationship with Junpei. She hadn't formed a story about how and when they had met. Junpei, surprisingly, came to her rescue in short order.

"Wait a minute, you two know each other?"

Ryouji nodded cheerfully. "We're roommates, aren't we?" he chirped, smiling brilliantly at her.

Riichi nodded mechanically, by now too confused, disoriented, and exhausted to do much of anything else. Junpei answered for her, producing a whoop and a fist pump. "Dude that's awesome!" he shouted. "You're in good hands Reech. Ryouji here's da man!"

She straightened up and stared at him. "But I thought you said he sounded like a-" she started and was interrupted by the another excited howl. The girl sighed and just decided to leave it. This wasn't worth it. Ryouji, who seemed to catch her exhaustion, gave her an apologetic smile; one that she didn't see because she was too busy flopping back on the bed and wondering if maybe she should just sleep the rest of the day.

oOo

"My name is Riichi Kitamura. Please take care of me." The girl bowed. She bit her lip and prayed to god that she had pinned her wig on good enough this morning. Wouldn't it be something if she had to explain away that.

She waited a moment to come back up, but was deterred by the overwhelming silence that reigned. It normally wasn't like this was it? Most people at least whispered about the new kid. She was so terrified that something had revealed her that she took a little more time than necessary to finally raise herself out of her bow. When she focused her eyes back on the classroom she was further scared into the realization that they were all staring at her. Not just bored stares, _hardcore_ stares that meant intense scrutinizing.

Riichi felt her face flush and her eyes dart around the room. God this was so embarrassing. What the hell was wrong with her? Was she _that_ obvious? Her worries were eased as soon as she heard the telltale signs of whispering. Even if it was about how strange she was, at least whispering meant they weren't all staring stupidly at her. She had felt like some sort of alien.

"He's really small."

"Doesn't he remind you of a Takage-senpai?"

"He's cute. Kind of like a model or something."

"You think he could be it this year?"

"Now that Takage's gone we need a new one right?"

New what! Riichi felt herself shiver. What the hell were they talking about, and who was this Takage person? Was he like, the school nerd or something? Punching bag! Were they going to make her into it now? She stiffened at once and the blood rushed out of her face. This wasn't good. This was so far from good it was horrible.

"Now now boys," the teacher soothed, looking far more miffed at the whole display than her voice was suggesting. "Settle down. You're making this a bigger deal than it really is. Riichi-kun isn't used to how things are done around here, so take care of him alright. Now," and at this point she directed her gaze towards Riichi. "We're going to need to find you a seat."

There was another pregnant pause. The boys each glared at each other venomously, as if daring each other to even _think_ about trying to procure her a seat next to them. Riichi felt a wry smile flutter across her face. This was going to be a treat, she could already tell.

Amongst the hostilities, there was one raised hand. "Ms. Toriumi," the soft voice called. "There's an open seat next to me." All eyes shot towards the back of the room, where the familiar face sat smiling.

Ms. Toriumi, as she was now known, narrowed her eyes in thought for a moment. "Alright then," she conceded, sighing grandly. "Riichi-kun, your seat will be back there next to Ryouji."

Riichi felt herself deflating as she nodded and trudged back towards the empty seat. This was good. In fact this was great. If Ryouji was here then she at least was safe for a while. It was a rule that roommates stuck up for each other right? Some sort of bromance camaraderie that only existed between those who lived with each other.

"You don't have to look so scared you know."

She looked up to see him chuckling. Riichi pouted as she eased herself into the seat. "I'm not," was her attempt at an argument. He just continued to laugh. As a hush settled around them, the girl looked foreword to find that everyone was once again staring at them. Riichi felt herself freeze and for a moment she wasn't sure where she was supposed to be looking.

Ryouji cocked his head, expression now bearing a confused smile. "Is everything okay?" he ventured.

The girl leaned over, never taking her eyes off the front of the classroom, and the multitudes of stares. "Did- did I do something wrong?"

His head cocked further left, and a flicker of confusion flashed through his eyes. After a moment his mouth formed an 'o' and a rather apologetic smile graced his face. "Ah yes, how should I put this." Put what? Was he going to tell her something bad? Her fears were further escalated when he continued to look uncomfortable. "Um, remember when I said you looked very pretty for a boy?" he asked. She nodded dumbly, not sure where this was going and equally unsure if she really wanted to find out. "Well, it's like-"

"Would you boys pay attention to me for once!" Ms. Toriumi's voice echoed throughout the room. The class all jumped before focusing their attention ahead of them. Even with this, Riichi could still feel the eyes of the boys in the two rows behind them boring holes into her back.

Ryouji reached over and patted her shoulder apologetically. 'I'll tell you later,' he mouthed, before turning his attention to the blackboard.

Riichi felt herself sigh. This was horrible. Her plan of using Junpei as a security blanket had backfired since they weren't in the same class. Ryouji was great and all, but he wouldn't be able to protect her in case something went wrong and the possibility of being found out cropped up. He just didn't know the whole situation, and honestly she really wanted to keep it that way. She shivered again, and wondered if maybe tomorrow she wouldn't be so interesting anymore.

oOo

Riichi rocked foreword violently in response to the harsh slap against her back. Ryouji gave a yelp of surprise and quickly reached over the table to hold her shoulders in order to prevent her from falling face first into her pudding. The girl shook like a leaf for a moment before regaining her bearings. As soon as she was able to properly see her half-eaten lunch (moreso because she had been too busy marveling at how big their dining room was than lack of time to eat) she twirled around furiously and glared at the offending person.

Junpei's grin filled her vision. "Yo," he greeted, ignoring her now dazed anger. "So you survived until lunch time did ya? Good for you. Oh Ryouji too?" His grin only increased as he seated himself at the table next to Riichi. The girl didn't move back until Junpei grabbed a hold of her arm and twirled her around to seat herself. She did so unwillingly, grudgingly taking her pudding cup in hand.

Ryouji smiled and nodded, "Well of course. Riichi-kun and I are classmates too." He gave her an award-winning smile and Riichi couldn't help but feel the corners of her mouth lift up in response.

The intruder did nothing more than snort. "This is so unfair. How come I'm the only odd man out. Kenji's in your class too isn't he?"

"Kenji?" Riichi voiced, and was promptly ignored in favor of Ryouji's concurrence.

"Yup. Kazushi-kun's with us too." Ryouji cocked his head in what might have been taken -and surely would have if she hadn't already figured him out- as a flirtatious attempt at being cute. "Junpei-kun you might actually be the only one who got switched to a different class this year."

Junpei snorted again. He shifted to get more comfortable and ended up bashing his knee against Riichi's, an act that made her wince and have to try _really_ hard not to slip that knee out from under the table and jab him in the ribs with it. "Dude this is such bull. You get the whole gang, and the new kid."

Said 'new kid' glowered at the milk carton in front of her. "You get what you deserve," she growled, her dark tone extraordinarily contradictory to her cute face.

Junpei ignored her once again. "Your homeroom teach is Ms. Toriumi right? Has she already started griping about how you guys don't listen to her?" He chuckled as he popped open the tab to his drink and took a swig.

The raven-haired boy nodded. Ryouji leaned his chin on his left fist and gave a shrug. "A little bit. She really seems to have taken a liking to Riichi-kun though." He smiled brilliantly and Riichi couldn't help but think there was a flicker of teasing in it. "He's quite the lady killer isn't he?

Junpei guffawed and once more slapped her heartily on the back. Riichi winced, bit her lip, and once more had to restrain herself from giving him a permanent dent in his ribcage. "You have to watch out for this one Ryouji. He might steal your thunder." She really didn't want to steal much of anything at this point, especially not thunder. "Oh yeah, what's with this idol business? You can't tell me they're trying to elect Reech are they?"

This was news to her. She shot her gaze over to Ryouji, whose smile had now taken on a particularly strained note. "Well, they were whispering about it during class today. After Takage-senpai graduated they were getting pretty antsy. And Riichi-kun is really pretty for a boy, even I have to admit."

Riichi felt herself shiver. The feeling from earlier had returned at a whole different level now. "Idol?" she rasped, not having enough air to produce a proper pitch. "Why an idol?" When neither boy looked ready to answer her anytime soon she bit her lip again -this time quite angrily- and stomped harshly on Junpei's foot. The boy let out a whine of pain in response. "What the hell is going on?" this time she had managed a rather menacing growl.

Ryouji cleared his throat awkwardly and tried to give her a reassuring smile. It wasn't doing it's job in the slightest. In fact, his attempt at a comforting demeanor was simply making her even more worried. "Well, we are an all-boys school Riichi-kun. Even if our sister school is a few blocks away, it's rare that we actually get to meet with girls. So, it's become almost, tradition I guess you would say, for us to um…well you know, choose a boy who is rather, good-looking? Mmm, maybe that isn't the correct way to say it. Umm,"

"There's a debate and they choose the girliest guy in the school who becomes almost like a princess in disguise for his entire stay here," Junpei interrupted when it didn't seem as if Ryouji was going to be able to explain. Ryouji, on his part, looked immensely relieved he wasn't the one who had to break the news, but still retained that demeanor that seemed as if he was particularly worried about hurting her feelings. It was all Riichi could do to simply sit there and gape. "Get it? Since honestly no other guy here is such a pretty-boy, you're probably going to be picked. You'll be pretty well protected, will get the best food and spots on forced activities, and honestly will probably get royalties from the photography club. Unfortunately advances from sexually confused dudes, love letters, and potential stalkers also comes with the package. Hope you're ready to be fawned over like a little girl, because dude, it's gonna happen."

Riichi was amazed at how in stride Junpei was taking this. If she became this idol there was no telling what might happen to her. Not to mention what might eventually be found out. She hoped he knew that if she got ratted out he was going down with her. It was already made pretty apparent they were good friends, there would be no way he could play off not knowing her dirty little secret when he had claimed they'd been friends for ages.

Ryouji cleared his throat and she looked up to see his soft smile. "I'm sure it'll be alright," he assured her. "Junpei-kun's just making a big deal out of it. Honestly more good comes out of being the idol than bad does. And if anything happens, I've got your back right?"

Despite the fact that she wasn't sure how much Ryouji could do for her, being as frail-looking as he was, she found herself smiling. "Thanks," she said. He just nodded in turn.

"Dude, you guys are already pretty tight aren't you?" Junpei interrupted the exchange and the two focused their gazes at him. Ryouji just nodded and chuckled, but Riichi caught Junpei's sideways glances and raised eyebrows.

The girl snorted and leveled him with a flat look. "Yes, as roommates we are getting pretty close. I think we're going to be better friends than some useless people sitting here."

Junpei lost all teasing and responded with an outraged glare. "What the hell man! Is this the thanks I get for everything I've done for you?"

They bickered for the rest of the lunch, Ryouji laughingly trying to placate the both of them and yet still seeming to get great amusement from their irritated banter.

oOo

Ah Friday at last. Riichi had somehow made it through the week. She attributed it to the fact that Ryouji had shown himself to be surprisingly good to his word, and had deflected some of the more frantic students attempts at fraternizing with her. By the third day she was still obviously a rather hot topic, but her notoriety had died down to where she didn't feel as if she were being heavily stared at all hours of the day. Thursday had even been kind of nice, and she had managed to hold a rather good conversation with the guy who was seated in front of her.

But that was then and this was now. She had planned to spend the weekend they had received off sleeping and secretly trying to study up on better ways of acting like a guy. (If she was going to be pinned as this infamous 'idol' it was now more important than ever that she lessen her girlyness as much as possible. The only unfortunate thing about this plan though was that she was probably going to have to spend an ungodly amount of time in their bathroom, which had thankfully ended up being a more westernized version that went to each room, in order to keep her activities secret from Ryouji.) Her day hadn't gone as planned and somehow she had ended up amongst a throng of other boys from their school, milling around outside the entrance to a Seven Sisters Academy. An academy, she had quickly found out, which was an all-girls school, and subsequently their sister school.

"Why are we here?" she deadpanned.

Junpei chuckled and shrugged. "Well, it's another tradition I guess. We always get the first Friday and Saturday off, and a lot of us use it to go visit the Sisters school to see what we're dealing with this year. Guys love girls remember." He circled his arm to hug her shoulders and gave her a friendly shake. "The girls get Monday and Tuesday off to go check us out. You'll see them swarming the entrance."

Riichi let out a hiss of a breath. "Yeah yeah, that's great and all, but why am _I_ here?" What she also wanted to know was if this was such a great tradition, why had Ryouji stayed back to, 'Contact an old friend' as he had so vaguely put it. Wasn't a guy's mentality hoes before bros? Or did she have that backwards?

Another shrug as he pulled away was all the sympathy she got. "You want to be labeled as a gay girly boy? This is a perfect way to ensure that they all think you're into girls. Like a cover or something." She had to admit, even though it was ridiculous and an extremely immature act, he did have a point.

"They're coming!" someone shouted out. There was an excited uproar and the crowd around them all shifted impatiently.

Sure enough they could hear a gentle murmuring of sound followed shortly by the emergence of a horde of females all clad in cream colored uniforms. Riichi found herself staring despite herself. The cream and white checkered mini-skirts, their knee-high socks, the cream ribbon peeking out from the collar of their blouse, all made her feel like she was about to drool. It was so unfair. Why wasn't she allowed to wear such cute uniforms?

Oh yeah. Because the only girls school in the area had been full.

This recollection made her have to hide a pout. Curse Junpei and his stupid suggestions, curse her own dark blue blazer and equally dark pants, and curse Seven Sisters Academy for not accepting anymore applicants. It was because of this that she lost her concentration, and thus when the crowd began to push and shuffle harder she found herself being jostled foreword without mercy. When she had finally regained her bearings she fought vainly in order to go back, or at least stay in one place. Without much effort at all the girl was launched foreword and out into the crowd of girls.

Riichi felt herself run into one of them, and a few of them gasp and yelp in surprise. She quickly righted herself and gave a short bow. "Sorry, I really didn't mean it. I lost my balance and well, they got a little excited. You know how it is right?" She let out a nervous chuckle, wondering how unmanly she must have looked right then.

There was a pause in which she received no answer, and Riichi gave a short sigh before looking up to see how mad the girl must be with her. She locked eyes with a very familiar face. She felt herself pale as she gazed into the scrutinizing eyes of a certain Yukari Takeba. "Do I know you?" the girl ventured, eyes narrowing farther.

"I highly doubt that," Riichi found herself nervously batting the girl's wonders away. This wasn't good. While her and Yukari hadn't known each other for very long -it would be three months soon since Junpei had introduced them- they had become friendly enough with each other that Yukari had a good chance of recognizing her. It had also been enough time for Riichi to become acquainted with the girls infamous temper, and honestly she didn't really want to be on the wrong end of that. The whole reason they hadn't told Yukari about their little plan had been because they knew the girl would not only oppose it, but give them a good verbal abusing about how stupid the whole plan was. (Riichi had thought it was stupid too, but she supposed she was even stupider for going along with the thing in the first place.)

The girl pursed her lips. "Is that so?" Yukari scrutinized her for another moment before conceding. She still looked incredibly skeptical, but at least she was walking away now.

"Oi Riichi! Where'd you go?"

Riichi felt herself pale again as Yukari whirled around and fixated a completely livid glare at her. She fixed on a weak smile as the girl marched over and roughly grabbed her elbow. "Oh I don't do I?" she snarled. When the disguised girl did nothing more then chuckle nervously, in which actually sounded more like a shrill cry of desperation, Yukari curled her nose and tugged viciously for her to follow.

Junpei fought his way out of the crowd and into the open and for a moment he looked almost as irritated as Yukari did. For that moment, Riichi thought that maybe she might be saved. And then he saw the girl's expression. His face fell, and Riichi's hopes were shattered into itty-bitty pieces. "Y-Yuka-tan!" he cried. "Fancy meeting you here. Me and my new friend here were just getting the lay of the land you know. He's such a chick-magnet isn't he?"

"Stupei," the girl hissed, silencing all his future excuses. "Zip it before I make your life a living hell. I'm talking to _Riichi-kun_ here, so sit pretty." The boy swallowed hard and nodded before stepping back to blend in with the crowd.

"Load'a help you are," Riichi snarled under her breath as Yukari violently dragged her away and around the corner of the gates.

The girl flung Riichi against the brick wall before wheeling angrily on her. "What the _hell_ are you thinking!" she hissed.

Riichi froze for a moment in fear before doing something incredibly stupid. She laughed nervously and shrugged. "I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about."

Yukari paused. For a brief moment of idiocy, Riichi thought that maybe she had won. But then the other girl's gaze went dangerously flat and her arm shot out and snatched the wig viciously from her head before Riichi could even grasp what was happening. "You were saying," Yukari deadpanned, and gave the wig a good shake in emphasis.

Riichi had to bite her lip hard to keep from crying. With all the pins she had used to keep the stupid thing on securely, that had damn well hurt. When she was no longer in any danger of bawling her eyes out like a toddler, the girl straightened and sheepishly looked up at her friend from under her eyelashes. "Well, um, I'm still here aren't I?"

The pink clad girl (Riichi was surprised to note that Yukari was breaking school rules by switching out her regular blazer for that pink cardigan she almost always wore.) snorted. "This was your plan? Riichi I knew Junpei would suggest something idiotic but I never thought you would actually go along with it. Do you know what will happen if anyone finds out about you?"

She actually hadn't wanted to think that far ahead. Riichi clasped her hands behind her back and kicked the dirt dejectedly. "I wanted to go to your school," she grudgingly admitted. "But it was already full by the time I tried applying. Junpei suggested his, and I figured it would be a fun thing to laugh about. I never thought I'd get accepted, or that the old couple would be so for it."

Yukari's face took on a rather incredulous look. "You can't mean to say they went along with it?" When Riichi nodded all Yukari could do was sigh in exhaustion. "Fine," she finally bit. The other girl was caught off guard when Yukari smacked the wig back into her hands and pulled her away from the wall. "Stand still, I'm repining this for you," she explained when Riichi had given a frightened squeak of misery.

"Does this mean you're not mad?" Riichi ventured.

"Of course I'm mad," and Yukari gave a sharp tug at her hair in emphasis. "But honestly there's really nothing I can do about it now. Especially if Aunty and Uncle have already given their consent." Riichi wasn't sure if it could really be considered consent. The two had pushed so hard for it that it was almost as if it had been their idea in the first place. "I just find it hard to wrap my mind around the fact that you actually let that moron Stupei talk you into it."

Riichi puffed her cheeks out in a pout before sighing. Well, whatever the case at least Yukari wasn't going to rat her out. It all worked out in the end, even if her scalp would probably be sore for the next day and a half. For the time, she could just relish in being a girl again for a few minutes.

"So, is it strange living amongst a bunch of guys?"

Small talk? Riichi would have looked up to see Yukari's expression, but she was terrified of what the girl would do to her if she moved and messed up the job of pining Yukari had already accomplished. "A little bit. But Junpei's there so it's not all bad, and my roommate's a pretty cool guy."

"Roommate?" Yukari asked, following it up with a 'Done,' and a pat on the head to ensure that Riichi knew she was really finished.

The smaller girl twirled around and checked Yukari's handiwork as she nodded her head lightly. "Yup. Since I'm the scholarship student and all apparently I'm forced into having a roommate. But he's a lot better than I expected. We're pretty good friends now too. At least I think so anyway."

Yukari nodded, eyebrow raised in slight disbelief. "So who is the lucky guy?" she ventured.

"Ryouji Mochizuki," Riichi replied, shrugging it off. "I keep hearing strange things about him though. A lot of the guys have been saying…Yukari?" The girl's face had gone completely pale. Riichi recoiled lightly in surprise and fear. "Is, is everything okay?"

"You mean to tell me," Yukari forced out, in a tone that was borderline growl. "That you're sleeping in the same room as _Ryouji Mochizuki_?" Riichi nodded hesitantly, by now terrified for her life. Yukari reached over to grab her shoulder and held it in a death grip. "Where's Junpei?" she finally snarled.

Riichi, now unsure of what action was best to keep her life, merely squeaked like a frightened mouse and shrugged. "I-I dunno," she stammered. To any passerby she would have appeared as a very pitiful looking boy at that moment. "Y-Yukari, what's wrong?"

The girl chuckled menacingly and turned Riichi harshly to push her back towards the crowd they had escaped from. "Nothing," she assured in a voice that clearly meant anything but nothing. "I'm just going to kill that son-of-a-bitch Stupei for allowing you to room with such a vile, perverted being."

"Vile?"

"Ohh, and to think I was actually going to go along with this," she growled. "And that idiot didn't take any measures in protecting you."

"Yukari, I'm really not sure what's going on anymore."

"It's alright, I'll make everything better," Yukari soothed, though all it succeeded in was making Riichi want to cry.

The murmur of the crowd had died down slightly by the time they reemerged to it. Riichi was simply thankful that there would be less people to see whatever display Yukari was planning on putting on. Her dread only increased when Junpei entered their vision, and Yukari immediately directed them in a b-line right towards him. His smile as they approached started off easy, and become increasingly anxious with every step they got closer.

"H-hey Yuka-tan," he greeted nervously. "So did you two have a good chat? You didn't do anything to _him_ right? Ah, I always did know his lady-experience was going to get him in trouble one day."

"Why is he rooming with that thing?" Yukari snapped, ignoring all of Junpei's babbling.

The boy lost his nervous demeanor and now simply stood there looking confused. "Him? Oh _him!_" He guffawed loudly and made a motion towards Riichi. Apparently he had been just as surprised at her unforeseen acceptance as she had. "Wait, what do you mean by thing?"

The girl hissed viciously. "You know damn well who I mean."

Junpei stood there stupidly for another moment before his face lit up in recognition. "Ohhhh, yeah. You mean you're still caught up over that? It was such a long time ago though."

"He asked me to Shirakawa boulevard," she hissed again. "That slimy good-for-nothing needs to stay the hell away from me, and Riichi."

While normally Yukari's word ended up being law -after all she was a damn terrifying woman to oppose- Riichi found herself objecting. "I'm fine," she interrupted, making the two look at her strangely. "I've been fine for a week, and I'm sure I'll be fine for as long as I'm there. He's helping me as it is, and he's a pretty cool guy to hang around. What's wrong with having him make a pass at you anyway?" And this certainly got a look of utter shock out of Yukari. "He's a guy right? All guys make passes at girls they think are hot. Take it as a damn compliment already, geez woman."

By the time she was finished she was panting. Riichi wasn't sure if it was the exertion the whole affair had caused her, or the fact that she had just spent pretty much that whole speech putting her all into making herself sound manly that had taken so much energy. Whatever the case though she had at least succeeded into rendering both Yukari and Junpei speechless, as well as acquiring the stares of pretty much all of the girls who were now probably late to class, and all her classmates that had lingered to get a glimpse of the stragglers.

"Damn," was all Junpei was able to mutter out.

Yukari responded with more class. She gave a grand sigh before shaking her head in exhaustion. "Fine," was her reply. "Fine, do whatever. But just so you know, if anything happens to you, he's taking all the responsibility." The girl jabbed her finger violently into Junpei's arm before she hefted her book bag higher on her shoulder and stalked off into the school.

Riichi was left as speechless as she had left them. Junpei on the other hand, was rubbing his now sore arm and glaring at the entrance to the academy. "Why the hell am _I_ the one who has to take the blame?"

* * *

_For those who don't know, the designations Aunty and Uncle are normally given to older people in Japan, as well as the normal relatives. So when Yukari refers to Riichi's adoptive parents as 'Aunty' and 'Uncle', she's not saying she's related to them. On another note, they're not at Iwatodai either. The only reason I used Shirakawa Boulevard was for lack of creativity, and I had no other way of subtly hinting at what Ryouji's proposal was insinuating._

_There will be another letter coming next chapter. Not to mention the introduction of more of our friendly male companions. _


	3. You're Gonna Go Far Kid

_Hohoho. I have finally succeeded in getting this out. I want to apologize now for the ridiculous time it took me. I'm going to use a rather pathetic excuse and say that life caught up with me. Well in other news, I'm really happy that you guys picked up on the Pri-Pri reference I made! (For those of you who haven't read Princess Princess, go do so. It's great). Unfortunately Riichi will not be dressing up though, so that's out. Also there was a question as to whether the other boys will show up here. I am going to say that everyone in the immediate cast (meaning SEES) will show up. Some in bigger roles yes, but all of them. And now that I have succeeded in making this a ridiculously long blurb, I want to thank all the reviewers. And I also want to put in a shameless request for more. They inspire me to write faster! _

_**You're Gonna Go Far Kid**_

"I am a man."

The girl pumped both of her arms and squared her shoulders. She was indeed a man now, and no matter how strange it was she was going to have to act the part. "That's right," Riichi began, chuckling darkly. "How can they call me an idol if I'm this manly?" Her chuckling grew darker and the girl had to stop herself from hunching over like some dramatic comic book villain.

Yesterday -the Friday she would forever remember- had been a terrible blunder on her part. It was primarily Junpei's fault, she had hastened to assure herself of, but Riichi couldn't deny that she held some of the blame. As soon as she had bumped into Yukari she should have booked it out of there. It would have been viewed as a cowardly act maybe, but at least she wouldn't have been the main attraction of the huge spectacle they had caused afterwards. And she wouldn't have been subjected to the fear of Yukari's further wrath.

But that wasn't the point anymore. The cat was already out of the bag; she had already made a -quite embarrassing- mark with the girls' school. If word got out to the guys as well then there was an even bigger blow to her pride. (Though whether that was her pride as a man, or as a woman was unclear. She was already beginning to blur the gender lines.) The problem that was most prevalent now, was the fact that her already slim masculinity was in danger of being reduced to shambles.

"That cursed idol," she snarled. Yes, this whole 'idol' business was the thing she really needed to focus on at the moment. 'Princess' the guys had explained it to her as. She would be, in a matter of speaking, the eye-candy of the school. The thought alone made her shiver. Perhaps if she had been the idol of a co-ed school, and as a girl, it wouldn't be so bad. Getting fawned on by guys as a girl actually sounded pretty good.

Riichi shivered again. "No, definitely not." There was just no way she could ever get used to that kind of treatment, regardless of gender.

So the only thing she could do now was practice being manly. Junpei had already given her some pointers -though she wasn't exactly sure if he was the best example to be learning from- and she had done a pretty good job of analyzing her classmates' habits the past week. Implementing them into daily life was only a matter of practice.

The girl once more began chuckling darkly. "Yes that's right. Who's going to be a Backstreet boy? Up yours you American girly-men."

She sobered at once as her room door opened. Riichi twirled around so fast she almost experienced whiplash. She was greeted with Ryouji's smiling face, which quickly turned to one of confusion when he saw how frantic she looked. "I'm back?" was his hesitant greeting.

"Oh yeah," she floundered. "Welcome back." Riichi shuffled out of the middle of the room and threw herself into her desk chair. She wasn't being weird, she told herself. She looked perfectly normal right then. The girl swallowed hard and prayed that he hadn't heard anything. Talking about American boy-bands and telling them to 'shove it' probably wasn't something sane people did on a daily basis. She fidgeted with her sleeves in an effort to preoccupy herself.

The door clicked shut and Ryouji made his way across the room to seat himself at his own desk. The boy stared down at the piece of furniture for a minute before he seemed to come to some sort of resolution. He stood up so suddenly that Riichi found herself jumping despite herself. Determined, the boy slipped around his bed and climbed over hers in order to seat himself on the opposite edge of it, and subsequently next to her. "Riichi-kun," he said, making her jump to attention. "I've only heard this second-hand, but you can tell me okay. I promise I'll keep it secret if that's what you want."

Riichi felt an eyebrow raise against her will. "Excuse me?" was all she could manage. For a moment she had absolutely no idea where he was going with this. And then something occurred to her. The girl felt her face pale at once. Oh dear god, he hadn't found her out had he? Was that why he was so serious? She found herself inwardly swearing in such a language that would make her deceased parents -if they were really dead that was- roll in their graves. "I-I'm not sure what you're talking about?" she chuckled, her voice almost going shrill. Only a week in and she was already fucked.

Ryouji's eyes narrowed slightly. "Is it true you're going out with Yukari Takeba?"

That wasn't what she had been expecting. Riichi displayed this with a quite elegant, "The hell?"

The boy's expression, needless to say, was rather surprised. "So you're not?" he asked.

She shook her head so hard she almost became dizzy. "Absolutely not," she hurried to assure him. "I mean, we're good friends yeah, but there's no chance we'll _ever_ get together. We're completely incompatible I promise you." Frankly the thought of going out with Yukari gave her goose bumps. Yukari was a great girl and all, but even as a boy Riichi would have found her a terrifying girlfriend. Also thinking of dating her best friend was almost as creepy as the thought of dating Junpei, and that was simply frightening.

Ryouji let out a small snort, and by the time she looked back up at him he was hunched over in an attempt to hold in his laughter. "Sorry, sorry," he chuckled when he became aware of her glare. "You just seemed really desperate right then."

"Well sorry," she replied. The girl brought her knees up to her chest and rested her feet on the edge of the chair; a perfect pouting position. "Just so you know, you don't have a chance with her. She about blew a gasket when she found out we were roommates." It was a low blow, but it was a revenge all the same.

Ryouji, much to her chagrin, didn't seem all that torn up about it. "Oh really?" he asked, still chuckling. "That's a shame. Such a nice girl too." Riichi was having problems believing they were talking about the same girl. "Really I was just curious. She's pretty well-known over here you know. It might turn out bad for you if her fans found out you two were an item." He grinned at her and reached over to ruffle her hair.

Riichi protested lightly, though she was more worried about him loosening her wig then annoyed at the actual action. "Yeah yeah," she sniffed. "Just admit you were jealous." Despite the fact that she kept telling herself she should be annoyed, Riichi found herself grinning back at him. His carefree attitude, she decided, was pretty contagious.

The boy gave a small laugh before leaning back on her bed. His easy smile slowly melted away into a look of concerned reluctance. It quickly became obvious that he was trying to say something that he really didn't want to. "Um, Rii-kun," he started, pulling out a nickname she hadn't heard before. "Um, there's, well…I have some news for you."

The girl found a small spark of dread cement itself in the pit of her stomach. "Spit it out," she ordered, regretting it as soon as it left her lips."Well," the boy began again, starting to fumble over his words. "They had the vote today," was his explanation. She found herself sighing and leaning over in an attempt to force him to go on. What kind of explanation was 'voting' anyway? It was useless information if she didn't know what the hell they were voting _on_. "It was um, unanimously decided. That is to say, starting from today onward, you're officially our, um, our new…idol."

Riichi felt her jaw drop. It was as if her soul had left her and was currently watching the whole scene from above. She really had no control over her body anymore, couldn't even feel anything to be exact. She must have looked pretty bad though because Ryouji's expression continued to become more worried. "Rii-kun? Rii-kun are you okay?" He hesitantly reached over to place a hand on one of her knees. "Rii-kun?"

The boy yelped when her right hand flew up to latch onto his. "You were there weren't you," the girl hissed. Ryouji's face at the moment resembled that of a frightened rabbit. "If it was unanimous, that means you voted for me as well, isn't that right." It wasn't a question, that was obvious by her dark expression and the fact that she was now digging her nails into the skin of his hand.

Ryouji once more let out a small cry and tried desperately to reason with her. "But Rii-kun," he started, and was promptly interrupted.

"You don't have the right to call me that," she growled through clenched teeth. "Ryouji-san, I thought we were friends. Wasn't there anyone _else_ you could have rallied for?" She wasn't sure if she was successful in putting him through a guilt trip, but her menacing expression and downright ominous hissing was at least doing it's part to strike fear into the boy.

"Well, uh you see, there was one other candidate. But if anyone had even dared suggest him there would have been hell to pay to a certain senior. I'm serious!" he added the last part when she fixed a simply incredulous look on him. "Um, it'll just be like the last few days. Not that bad at all right?" As he tried soothing her, Ryouji attempted to, ever-so-cautiously, remove his hand from her grip.

When Riichi realized what he was doing, he was about halfway through with it. She halted all his relief by tightening her grip on, and thus digging her nails once more into, his hand. "Ryouji-san, I found four love letters in my box yesterday," she chirped. Her voice was cheery, but her eyes were still dangerous. "Would you like to go and reject them all in my place?"

Ryouji chuckled nervously and tried to scramble backwards and out of her reach while still remaining calm. Riichi was fully prepared to lunge at him when the door to their room was thrown open. Junpei might as well have danced in for how cheerful he seemed at that moment. "So I heard the good news. How does it feel being the school's new bitch Reech?"

Riichi had never wanted to strangle someone as much as she did right then.

oOo

It had taken a good amount of time for the boys to finally convince Riichi not to commit murder. When she had finally settled down it had taken them even longer to convince her to actually have anything to do with either of them. It was late in the afternoon by the time Riichi had allowed herself any shred of civility, and even then she was still attempting to keep herself from cracking grins at their jokes. And then Junpei once more brought up the topic of idol, and her mood had soured all over again.

It had turned into a very unproductive day. Junpei was kicked out before he had accomplished what he had come to do (which had been to discuss battle strategies to protect her, or so he claimed) and Ryouji had been wildly unsuccessful at regaining any favor she had with him.

Sunday, unfortunately, ended up pretty much the same way.

So when Monday crawled up on her, Riichi couldn't help but feel that she had succeeded in none of her goals, and had spent her whole break doing absolutely nothing. (Other than revealing her biggest secret to Yukari of course.) The girl had rolled out from under her covers like a drowsy cat, only thanks to Ryouji's prodding, and had gone about her morning ritual in a daze. By the time she was finished her uniform looked like a mess and she didn't have enough time to get to breakfast.

"Geez, you could of at least put your blazer on right," Ryouji chuckled. He stepped in front of her in order to stop her, and then proceeded to straighten her attire.

Riichi snorted and refused to look at him. "What are you my mother," she muttered, puffing her cheeks out in a rather unmanly pout.

Ryouji merely chuckled. "I refuse to be seen with you like that today," he chirped.

"You could have just gone ahead without me," she continued to sulk.

He shook his head, "No can do. It's your first time, so you'll be overwhelmed anyway. But you're also the idol on top of that. If I left you alone this morning I don't think I could qualify as a good friend." He finished and patted her shoulder affectionately before moving to his former position next to her. Riichi merely stared at him stupidly. When it was obvious she wasn't going to move Ryouji sighed and placed a hand on her back in order to gently propel her foreword. "You'll see soon enough," was his answer to her unspoken question.

They reached the front of the dorms, and each took a moment to check their mailboxes. Riichi groaned as she opened the lid and was greeted with another batch of letters. Shouldn't they wait a few weeks before professing their undying love to another boy? She curled her nose as she picked through them, and then her whole demeanor lit up at once when she reached the end of the pile. The blue envelope that greeted her was all it took to brighten everything back up. The telltale sign that she had once again received word from her closest friend.

"Rii-kun? You ready?" Riichi jumped and quickly shoved the letter into the inside pocket of her blazer. Getting so excited over a letter was overly girly, plus she didn't want to get teased by Ryouji as well. Junpei mocking her for having a pen pal was bad enough.

"Uh yeah," she stuttered and made a b-line towards the entrance. She heard footsteps behind her, signaling Ryouji was indeed following her. Riichi sighed under her breath. Damnit it all she really wanted to read her letter now.

In a completely oblivious state, the girl opened the doors and stepped outside. When she finally did look up, it was all she could do to simply stand there in shock. Riichi stared ahead of her at the hordes of girls flocking around the entrance to the school building. (The dorms were located in two buildings across the street from the school. It was, all in all, a relatively easy set up.)

"I thought Junpei-kun would have told you, since you went over to their school Friday," Ryouji said as he stopped beside her.

Riichi made a few noises that could have passed as a strangled cry. As if in a daze, she slowly turned her head to focus her gaze on the boy next to her. "You mean," she started, having to pause to swallow. "That they're _all_ from Seven Sisters?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Well, not all of them, but a lot yes. This was the reason they were given today and tomorrow off." The way he said it made it sound so typical. As if every school had such a ridiculous custom to show off. "Now come on," Riichi jumped as Ryouji once more placed a hand on her shoulder and proceeded to push her foreword. "If we don't go now, there won't be a crowd to help buffer them." The boy laughed merrily, while all Riichi could do was toddle along in shocked dismay.

When they had gotten a little closer, the girl had managed to convince herself that it wasn't all that bad. After all, she'd have another chance to look at their uniforms again. Such cute things they were after all. Riichi caught herself before she began drooling and mentally scowled. Damn, she was beginning to remind herself of Junpei, and that was just disturbing.

"Ryouji-san!"

Riichi's head shot up in an instant. The squeal was followed shortly by a chorus of similarly high-pitched coos and shrieks. She had barely enough time to register that they had apparently gotten close to the gates before the two of them were bombarded by a crowd of giggling girls -in fact there was such a whirlwind of cream colors and flying hair that for a moment Riichi wasn't able to really register anything. She felt herself being jostled further (and by now all of this was reminding her a little _too_ much about what had just happened Friday. This alone was enough to make her slightly nauseous.) and rammed into and pressed against Ryouji's side. Not only was this uncomfortable, but the increasing proximity of these foreign girls' faces wasn't exactly helping much.

"Ryouji-san! You haven't called me recently."

"You're still as cute as ever!"

"We should go out next weekend."

"Who's that?"

Through the clamor someone finally noticed Riichi. The girl, who had been standing there dumbfounded at how popular her roommate had turned out to be, didn't realize they were talking about her at first. When the chatter died down slightly and all eyes pointed at her, she could only stand there in a dumb silence. "Hmm?" she finally managed out, pointing a delicate finger at herself.

Ryouji laughed cheerily and threw an arm around her shoulders. "This is Riichi Kitamura, he's new this year." The boy gave her a good shake in emphasis, one that elicited quite a few 'ooh's of understanding. "Treat him well okay, he's a good friend."

Riichi, now over her initial shock, felt her expression fall into a deadpan. Not only were the girls' insistence of clinging to his every word downright insulting (as a fellow female, Riichi couldn't help but curse them for degrading their gender) but Ryouji's compliancy with them and the fact that he looked pretty comfortable in the middle of the swarm was grating on her nerves. She was about to say something about the whole situation, but was interrupted when the crowd once more began to buzz.

"So where are you from?"

"How old are you?"

"Ooo he's such a cutie!"

"Ryouji-san why didn't you introduce us sooner?"

"Let's be great friends!"

"No fair I saw him first!"

Riichi was once more overwhelmed, but it was much worse this time since their attention was now on her instead of the boy at her side. The girl found herself jumping slightly and pressing back against Ryouji as the crowd advanced. Her eyes darted around her quickly, trying to pinpoint the owners of certain voices and cursing others because they kept speaking before she had time to register anyone else. But it was the girl from earlier who once more demanded her full attention.

"I think he looks like a girl."

Riichi's head snapped to the side so fast she made herself dizzy. The girl's expression looked particularly stiff, her eyes narrowed and searching. It was as if she could sense something was wrong. Riichi let out a nervous chuckle and tried to look as embarrassed as possible -which would have been made a whole lot easier had she not felt as terrified as she did. "I get that a lot," was her explanation. "Does it bother you?" She cocked her head cutely, much like she had seen Ryouji do.

The girl's eyes narrowed further, before she sighed and straightened back up. "Not particularly. I just never figured Ryouji-san the type to hang around pretty boys. Should it bother me?"

Now was the time. This was a perfect chance to prove her manliness. Riichi mentally prepared herself, strengthening her resolve for all it was. If she could effectively charm this girl, then not only could she potentially make a break for it, but she could prove to Ryouji and hopefully the rest of the student body that she was too manly to be their girly 'idol'.

She straightened, put on the sweetest smile she could muster, and once more cocked her head. "Not at all. If anything Princess, I hope that it would please someone as pretty as you."

There was a collective gasp, one that was ignored by Riichi in favor of inwardly cursing herself. Oh that hadn't come out right. She had laid it on too thick; not to mention it hadn't made any sense at all. Whatever the case, when she looked back up she was surprised to see the girl staring at her in shock, face pink with embarrassment.

"W-why thank you," she stammered, voice now taking a softer tone.

Riichi once more felt her eyes dart around to take in the surprised and rather adoring expressions that were now fixed upon the crowds' faces. What really worried her though, were the glints in the eyes of certain girls who looked as if they were ready to pounce on fresh meat. "What did I do?" she tried whispering to Ryouji, but he didn't seem to hear her because he laughed and once more gave her a friendly shake.

"I wouldn't get too attached girls," he warned good-naturedly. "He's the idol this year. You're going to have to fight most of the guys to get him to yourselves."

Their faces fell; the girl from earlier's face fell; Riichi's face fell.

Could this day get any worse.

The warning bell rang and at once Riichi felt herself perk up. "Oh damn, I have to get to class," she explained, picking Ryouji's arm up by the wrist and shrugging it off. "Well it was lovely meeting all of you ladies, I would really enjoy chatting more but well, duty calls." She bolted at once, diving for a small crack in their line and rushing through the crowd as they gasped and scattered around her. Riichi ran for all she was worth, and didn't slow down until she was far inside the sheltering gates of the school.

oOo

To say she had been made fun of for her blatant escape from the girls that morning, would have been an understatement. A majority of her class, including her supposed friend Ryouji, refused to let her forget it. In fact that had been pretty much all they grilled her on for the whole morning. By the time lunch had come around she was fuming more than she had when she found out she was to be the school's eye-candy.

"So are you scared of them because you've got such a girly face yourself?"

This was followed up by a chorus of laughter. The boys all took turns between throwing back their heads and doubling over. Almost all of them had at one point fallen out of their chair -all except Ryouji that was, who had mysteriously disappeared when the last bell rang. Riichi felt her expression fall blank with annoyance once more. Really this was getting to be ridiculous.

"Though honestly," one of the boys (she really needed to start learning names. It would probably help her survive longer.) tried to straighten up, and attempted to be serious for a short interval. "He is pretty popular with the girls." This got a reaction out of them. They all sobered, though still wearing laughing expressions, and leaned in as if this were a juicy secret in some girls gossip circle. "All of them were talking about how Riichi-kun was so adorable, and how his charm was pretty much on par with Ryouji's." They all 'oohed' in reverence, shooting her respecting glances. For a moment, Riichi felt that this might have been her crowning moment. Now she was truly accepted as a 'boy'. And then it was all dashed by the next thing out of one of their mouths.

"So, Idol-chan. How does it feel to be loved by both girls _and_ guys?"

The laughter once more erupted. Riichi narrowed her eyes in irritation before sighing and deciding to just give up. "Oh yeah, it's a blast," she deadpanned, making the laughter that much more pronounced. "Well, since you're all preoccupied, I have business to do." Though she knew it sounded rather stuffy, that was what she decided her parting words were to be. The girl stood up and replaced her chair before heading towards the doorway, ignoring the groans and pleas to come back. She might have considered it had they not been mixed in with the chuckles and cackling.

Whatever respect she had managed to gain, was crushed easily under the nasty title 'idol'. That stupid thing was becoming more problematic as time went on. Riichi cursed under her breath and continued to mutter several things about what she would do to them if she weren't already in hiding. But for now, she was going to do bigger and better things; like reading her letter. So caught up in her future plans of revenge and excitement, she failed to pay attention to her surroundings.

Riichi let out a small gasp as she collided headfirst with something. The girl took a moment to right herself, barely registering that the person she had ran into was steadying her himself. "Uh, sorry about that," she stammered, coughing in an attempt to cover up whatever feminity might have leaked into her voice thanks to the shock. "Wasn't paying attention and all."Her nervousness increased tenfold when she was finally stable enough to fully take in the boy. He stood about a good head higher than her, and was built pretty firmly. (She had little time to marvel at how solid he was, but it was still time enough.) His silver hair was what caught her attention first, and from there her gaze traveled to the bandage above his left eye. The girl in her was screaming how attractive he was. The boy she was supposed to be, was screaming how terrifying he might turn out.

The boy scrutinized her for a few moments, removing his hand from her shoulder -in which she realized this had been the reason she hadn't fallen backwards in her tottering attempt to straighten up- and placing his fist under his chin. "You're Kitamura right?" he finally spoke up.

"Uh, no-I mean yes! That's me." She chuckled nervously as he raised an amused eyebrow at her. The mixture of fear and fluster was making it hard for her to think straight.

He looked deep in thought for another moment before he reached out the hand that had earlier touched her and ruffled her wig. "Well, I guess they chose a good idol." Riichi felt all her earlier emotions drained in favor of an even greater irritation. Would this damnable title follow her for the rest of her time here? "But idol or not, you're too skinny." Now this was a new one.

Riichi peered up from around his arm. "Excuse me?" she finally managed out. Since when had being skinny been such a problem? In her opinion he wasn't exactly large either. Well-built yes, but still thin.

The boy laughed and gave her another brotherly ruffle before retracting his arm once again. "You're scrawny man. You don't do much sports do you?" She wouldn't have been so miffed if she could defend herself. But as it stood, explaining that she played volleyball was probably not going to get her any points in the manliness department. "You should join the boxing club. I'll make sure you get into shape."

Her earlier aggravation was replaced by desperate fear. Boxing club? What the _hell_ would she do in a boxing club! All of the fight seeped out of her and she felt herself going limp. The boy merely gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder as he passed. She vaguely heard him exchange words with someone from the next class over (something about looking for someone. The Kendo captain?) but she didn't have enough time to really think about it. She was too busy worrying over how she was going to wiggle out of this new problem.

"Dude, you were scouted by _the_ Akihiko Sanada." She was briefly brought back to reality by the voice of one of the boys from earlier. He was leaning out the doorway now, in fact a whole crowd had actually appeared in the doorway and the windows into the hallway. Riichi found herself slightly startled by how much attention that little exchange had gotten.

Almost mechanically the girl shook her head. "Um, is that who that was?" she asked, jutting a thumb over her shoulder.

There was a small hush in which all of them stared at her as if she had grown another head. "You mean you don't know who he is?" one finally broke the silence. She shook her head in the negative.

"Dude he's legendary!" another one shouted, quickly followed by a chorus of agreements. This was joined by a myriad of shouting and statements, all in attempts at getting her up to speed on this new 'legendary' boy. By the end of it, all Riichi had been able to pick out was that he was captain of the boxing team, had never lost a match, and was a bigger heartthrob than Ryouji. (The last item was enough to make her wonder how the girls acted around him. They had certainly seemed star struck around her roommate.)

A long chorus of sighs erupted and Riichi was startled all over again. "Man this isn't fair," one of them moaned. "If he starts going for Idol-chan we don't have any chance."

"We had him first too," another snorted.

"You do know I'm a guy right?" Riichi felt she needed to clear this up once more. She was promptly ignored.

"He's already got the other cutey of the school. It's not fair if he's got both."

"Yeah, Kendo-kun and Idol-chan can't both belong to one guy! He needs to learn how to share!"

Another chorus of agreements filled the air and Riichi found herself surrounded by a debate of the unfairness of having such a damn cool upperclassmen. She sighed and shook her head wearily before deciding now was her last chance for a retreat, and promptly took it.

Idiocy. She was completely surrounded by idiocy. Did those guys even understand what was coming out of their mouths? To think they were getting worked up over a couple of pretty faces. Sure, she thought pretty-boys were plenty hot, but she was also of the female persuasion. And thus, despite all her irritation she really couldn't deny she was really curious to see this 'Kendo-kun' boy now. Especially if he was attractive enough to rival her for the stupid idol spot, and seemed to be the pet for this legendary senior.

This thought triggered a realization, and she stopped short just outside the door to the empty science room. Riichi put two and two together and couldn't help the nasty snarl that erupted from her mouth.

"So he's the reason I was unanimously voted!"

oOo

_Dear Orpheus_

_Oh, so you're in a boarding school now as well? That's rather exciting. I'm sure you'll do fine there yourself, you have the personality for it. It's a little hard at first though, so just keep at it and don't give up. You'll get used to living there soon enough, I promise. I'm also glad that you get to stay near your new family. I know how hard it is for you to be constantly moving. This 'J' sounds like a good friend, keep him close okay?_

_Thank you for worrying about me. You were right though, my new roommate is a pretty good guy. Actually he's rather entertaining, if not a little strange. I kind of feel bad for him though. I think he's going to be put into a pretty degrading position soon enough. I mean, he fit's the part to a T, but it is a blow to someone's pride. He's got a lot of spunk though, so he should be able to pull through it._

_Oh yeah, I sent another package to the orphanage. They replied and said that the kids were grateful. They also said that they really miss you, maybe you should go visit soon. I think you'll be able to help put the gift to use. (You did use to read to them didn't you? Oh, that spoiled it didn't it. Well you don't know what book it is so at least there's still that.) All of that reminded me of how long it's been though. Eight years is a lot of time huh? _

_Make sure you stay safe for me. And don't do anything reckless while you're at school. It's easy to get carried away when you live on your own. My friend does quite a lot, it's fun in a way, but we do tend to get in a lot of trouble. Make sure to remember how to defend yourself correctly too. If you're in a co-ed school there's no telling how many guys will try to come at you! _

_I'll write to you again,_

_Pharos_

_P.S. Well, our showers are western; only one person at a time and all. Why?_

oOo

Riichi bit her lip and giggled. She fidgeted excitedly and reread the letter again. It was so nice to get a letter! Pharos was like a link back to sanity, back to being a true girl. Hearing about the orphanage had given her something to look foreword to as well. She had known she hadn't been visiting properly, but in her defense she had been pretty busy these last couple of months. But to think that he had remembered them as well.

She let out another girlish giggle, and had she been in her right mind she would have been immensely grateful that no one supposedly ever came into this room. Riichi was too elated to really care though. Pharos' letter had brought her his sweetness, and she was going to hold onto it as long as she damn well could.

Lovingly, the girl folded it up and placed it back in its envelope. She then stuck it back inside her blazer and scuttled out of the room. Her frighteningly happy smile stayed fixated on her face throughout the rest of the day, and by the time class was over even Ryouji had become increasingly worried.

It wasn't until someone mentioned Akihiko's name did her mood once more fall back into it's earlier depression.

oOo

She threw the door open and almost ran inside. The girl's expression was steeled but her eyes were desperate.

"Junpei, we have a major problem," Riichi announced as she stepped further into the boy's room.

The girl was granted with silence. She took a moment to settle down and examine the situation before her, and almost found herself going pale. Along with Junpei, two other boys were seated on the floor further in the room. Upon closer inspection, she realized that these two were also in her class.

"Uh, um, I," the girl floundered, trying to find a reasonable explanation for her actions. She looked to Junpei for help, and was sorely disappointed when she came to the realization he was desperately trying to hold back laughter. "You son of a bitch," she muttered under her breath.

Unlike her ex-best friend, one of the other boys let his laughter fly. Riichi was surprised all over again when the boy fell backwards, clutching his stomach. "Oh god, that was epic!" he finally shouted when he regained enough air. Picking himself back up into a sitting position, he grinned at her. "Well well, looks like the new kid has more spunk then we thought."

Riichi found herself glowering at him. Junpei did his best to diffuse the situation. "Oi, Riichi this here's Kenji and Kazushi." The boy who had laughed cocked his hand in greeting, and the second one nodded his head. "Try not to scare them off now will ya? They're good friends of mine."

Her eyes narrowed and she snorted. Kazushi picked himself off the floor and started walking towards her. "I have club now, so I'll be going," he shot over his shoulder, and left without another word.

Kenji let out another bout of laughter. "Figures he would leave like that. Don't take it to heart, he's kind of slow socially."

All Riichi had in response was a murmured, "I didn't."

"So," the boy started up again. He paused and waited a moment before fiercely beckoning her over. Riichi did as she was told in confusion. When she had secured herself a spot next to Junpei and across from Kenji, he continued. "Is it true?" he asked, eyes gleaming.

"Is what true?" the girl ventured. Junpei's badly hidden giggles making her even warier.

Kenji bit his lip excitedly and leaned in farther. "You know. What they're saying? Is it true?" She shook her head, now thoroughly confused. "About you and Yukari!" It was obvious now he was getting frustrated. "Dirt man, give me the dirt! Are you two seriously an item!"

This time she really did go pale. "What are you," she began, "why did you, what the hell is going on!" Junpei's cackles were making her even more flustered.

The boy looked a little let down at this point. "So you're not going out with her?"

"What, no!" Riichi finally managed out. "Where did you people even come up with this stuff? Me and Yukari are_ never _happening!"

Kenji sighed and leaned back, his expression thoroughly displeased. "I know I'm supposed to be happy, since she's hot and all, but this is a major let down man. You have single-handedly destroyed the greatest rumor this school has ever had." Panicking, Riichi once more attempted to plead for help from Junpei, and was once again refused when he looked even more amused than earlier. "Just think of it!" Kenji piped up, demanding her attention again. "The Idol of St. Hermelin hooks up with the hottest chick from Sevens. The most wanted boy steals the most wanted girl. It crushes the dreams of almost all the guys in this school in one fell swoop!" He guffawed loudly.

The girl felt her face settling into a mild confusion. She was no longer shocked stupid, but this whole ordeal was still making her tread safely. She remembered him from class, if she recalled correctly he sat a few rows ahead of her. Now what was it Ryouji had said about him? Something along the lines of woman. Though that wasn't exactly surprising, most of what came out of these guys' mouths was about women.

"But wait, if you're not going out with Yukari, does that mean your standards are higher?"

Young women? Lolis perhaps?

"I can kind of understand though. A guy has to be pretty masochistic to get a good relationship with her. She's damn scary sometimes. Hot, but scary."

No, a lolicon didn't sound right. Perhaps it was maids…

"Maybe it's your type huh? I bet you're into those quiet, shy girls who are all sweet and make you boxed lunches and stuff."

Oh right, that was Junpei. Then what was he? She _swore_ Ryouji had told her something.

"Dude c'mon! Ya' gotta give me the dirt! I bet you have some sweetheart hidden somewhere don't you?"

Riichi 'ahhed' and slapped her fist into her open palm. "Oh yeah, you like old women don't you."

Kenji's mouth dropped and Junpei went into another bout of hysterics beside her. Riichi's face fell back into confusion as she glanced between the two. "W-what?" she finally managed to stammer. "I'm sorry?"

"No, no that was great!" Junpei assured her, patting her heartily on the shoulder. "God Kenji you should see your face!" His chuckles died down as he began to get a hold of himself again.

The boy across from them looked genuinely hurt for a moment before he narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms defiantly. "I like _older_ women. Not _old_ women. Who told you that anyway?"

Riichi chuckled nervously, "Oh, someone said it in passing." It would probably be best to leave Ryouji's name out of this. For her roommate's safety anyway.

Giving a grand sigh Kenji shook his head. "My preferences aside, you seem to be getting along here pretty well." She must have looked confused because he carried on. "I mean, if you're already hearing rumors like that then you've blended in quick." He nodded his head seriously, as if this was some great wisdom he was imparting on her.

"If you say so," Riichi responded. Personally she thought her welcome had been a little _too_ warm, and she wasn't exactly 'blending' with her classmates, but if he thought so then who was she to contradict him?

Kenji shrugged and released his arms to lean back on them. "Well, I know it's late, but welcome to St. Hermelin." He held out a hand, to which Riichi hesitated slightly before taking. For some reason this was making the girl blush. Perhaps it was because aside from Ryouji and Junpei (who was rather obvious), he had been the first to really welcome her here. "You can't blame me though," the boy continued as they let go of each other. "You're a really hard guy to get to. What with all your fans around."

Riichi felt her nose curl. "Not my fault," she snorted. "You guys are the ones with the strange traditions."

He laughed again. "Yeah, you're right about that."

The girl chuckled despite herself. She liked this guy. He was funny, surprisingly good-natured, and furthermore he didn't seem caught up in the fact that she was some new celebrity. It was a refreshing combination, especially when she thought about most of the other guys in her class.

"So," Kenji brought her out of her thoughts. "If there's ever anything you need to know, don't hesitate to ask."

She cocked her head quizzically just as Junpei began his explanation. "Kenji here's pretty much the rumormonger of the school. He knows everything and anything."

Kenji waved his hand dramatically. "You're making me blush Junpei," he teased. Returning his attention to Riichi, his smile curled. "Now, I need the dirt. You can't possibly expect me to believe someone with a face like yours hasn't snatched himself a girlfriend."

Riichi sighed and shook her head. "Nope."

The boy, much to her amusement, looked as if the world had just ended. "You mean you're _single_?" She nodded without a second thought. "Dude that's like, wrong. In so many ways man!"

"You're single too aren't you?" Junpei put in. His jab was pointedly ignored.

"As a fellow man, I can't accept this!" Kenji thrust his index finger in front of her nose, making Riichi jump slightly. "We, my good man, are going to find you a lady friend."

The girl cocked an eyebrow. "A what?"

Kenji chuckled and retracted his arm to once more cross against his chest. "Yes, the great Kenji Tomochika, are helping you find the joys of love." He let out a charismatic laugh.

"Is, is that so," she responded, her lack of enthusiasm rather obvious. "Well good luck with that."

She made to move to leave -since she obviously wasn't going to get Junpei alone, she'd have to talk about her new problem later- and was promptly stopped by Kenji's, "You make it sound as if you have no part in this." The girl paused and fixed an incredulous gaze on him. "I'm talking about a group date," he explained. "You, me, and our boy Junpei here will get together with a group of girls. All in the name of hooking you up!"

Riichi's face fell. "Are you sure you're not just trying to hook up yourself?" she tried. She was immediately ignored by the two's excited conversation.

"That's a great idea Kenji!" Junpei exploded in excitement. "How about this Saturday?"

Kenji laughed triumphantly. "Good, we'll do it after school. And let's invite Mochizuki, he knows loads of hot chicks."

"Guys," Riichi tried, rather pathetically. "I really don't think this is a great-"

"So it's set then! I'll go get Ryouji and see if he's free! C'mon Reech!" The girl yelped as Junpei grabbed her wrist and proceeded to drag her out of the room with him. Right as they were leaving he leaned down and grinned at her. "I really hope you know how much fun this is for me."

Her face fell again and Riichi swore she would never take Junpei's advice again. This whole experience was just too damn exhausting.


	4. Friends Like You

_I think this might have taken me longer than the last one. I'm really sorry about that, especially because I don't think I'll be getting any faster on the updates. But anyway… Thank you all for your feedback. It makes me warm and fuzzy inside. And I can't tell you guys who Kendo-kun is yet. I have to keep a secret for at least a few chapters. (Though a few of you have probably already gotten a good idea who he is.) _

_And because I fail at clearing up stuff like this in the actual story. For Seichou Maki, who inquired about the addresses. They actually send their letters through the orphanage, who then sends it to the other person. That way it keeps their anonymity. They were only seven/eight years old when they started writing each other after all._

_**Friends Like You**_

Riichi stared blandly at the words in front of her. She had propped up her chemistry book in order to hide any attempts at sleeping she made, but it had been a lost cause. Instead of Ms. Ounishi's lecture on acids, she had spent almost the whole period reading and re-reading a paragraph about the affects of catalysts on reactions. The girl supposed it was probably going to hurt her grade on the next quiz, but then again she wasn't the scholarship student on a fluke and studying had become a sort of specialty of hers. It also helped that her roommate was rather intelligent as well. Speaking of Ryouji…

The girl snuck a glance sideways, and was rather amused to note that he looked almost as bored as she was. Ryouji, unlike her, was much better at masking that kind of stuff though. The boy glanced over at her, and she quickly averted her gaze to avoid getting caught. After a few minutes Riichi snuck another glance over, and inwardly cursed when she noticed he was smirking. Ryouji shifted slightly and resumed tapping his pencil softly against the spine of his book. She muttered darkly under her breath and ferociously threw herself into reading her paragraph on catalysts. Looking all smug like that, and he knew full well she was angry with him.

Riichi had long come to the conclusion that she would never get the upper hand when both Ryouji and Junpei were involved. The latter was too preoccupied with making her life impossible and the former was far too easy to string along when Junpei was concerned. That's why she shouldn't have been so let down last night when her silent pleas had failed to convince Ryouji to reject Junpei's offer of a group date. As it stood though, she had taken it rather hard. For some reason it had felt like a betrayal on the boy's part.

The bell rang and Ms. Ounishi clucked her tongue. "Finish pages 79 through 87 for homework. We'll continue this tomorrow," she ordered as she collected her stuff and left.

A long sigh escaped the girl's lips, and Riichi grudgingly closed her book and threw it into her bag. Classic lit was next, which was fine and all, but if Ekoda caught her sleeping there would be hell to pay. She wrinkled her nose and decided that the few minutes between classes they got would be enough for a short nap.

"Are you still mad?"

Well, there went _that_ plan.

Riichi cracked open an eye to peer up into Ryouji's amused gaze. "No." _Yes_. "I'm not."

Ryouji chuckled and leaned his weight on his elbows. "I said I was sorry yesterday," he placated. "I'm not sure why you're so mad anyway. It's just a group date."

The girl realized that any chances of sleep had been lost, and sat up. "That I didn't want to go on," she pointedly reminded him. "Why don't you and Junpei just go? I mean, you've got girls fawning over you left and right, but this might be his only chance at ever getting a girlfriend. Think of how my being there might jeopardize that."

He let out another laugh, eyes crinkling merrily. "True, true," he joked along. "Personally I have nothing against you skipping out, but Kenji-san seemed really excited about this. So did those girls I called yesterday. They would be crushed if you didn't show, and it's quite ungentlemanly to hurt a woman's feelings like that." Riichi had to try really hard to resist telling him she wanted nothing to do with being a gentleman. She had to try even harder to keep from telling him where he could shove said gentlemanly ideals.

"Fine," she bit. "But I'm going to say this now. I am _not_ responsible for anything going wrong, you got that? You, Kenji, and that idiot Junpei can all deal with it yourselves."

Ryouji laughed as she stubbornly returned her attention foreword. "Got it," he told her, reaching over to knock his knuckles gently against her shoulder. Riichi muttered something in response, and wondered why it was so damn hard to stay mad at this boy.

oOo

"You can't expect us to believe you're actually going on a group date."

Kenji thumped his chest and grinned proudly. "He is. _I'm _the one to thank for that." There was a round of jeers in which the group complained about the absurdity of their idol getting any. Riichi merely thought the whole thing was ridiculous.

It was somewhat pleasant though, to know that she had managed to mold into a certain niche. While she had figured she would make friends, she had never dreamed that she would be accepted by some this quickly. Junpei was a given. Ryouji, with his personality, was understandable. Kenji on the other hand, was a pleasant surprise. One day in and he was already professing that they were going to be great friends. While this had taken her slightly aback, the boy had seemed pretty intent on honoring this declaration and in this short amount of time he had already managed to make it pretty clear she was stuck with him from now on. She found she didn't mind. Even Kazushi - who she had concluded was in fact, pretty socially awkward - was making an effort to be get on better terms. Though she supposed that might have actually been because all his other friends were now hanging around her.

So though lunch that day was rowdy and had her surrounded by fans again, Riichi had to admit it was beginning to become more fun.

Junpei guffawed next to her, and then surprised the girl by swinging an arm around her shoulders. "It might have been Kenji's idea, but any success this guy has will be thanks to me. Someone had to coach him in his lady killing ways."

"Yeah, you were a great coach in everything one isn't supposed to do," Riichi muttered. The jab was heard by all, and another round of laughter erupted throughout the crowd.

The boy scowled at her. "That's cold Reech," he chided. "Really cold. You should treat your best friend better."

The corner of her mouth curled impishly. "I treat Ryouji-kun fine."

Ryouji chuckled at the same time as Junpei's jaw dropped. "I'm honored," he laughed.

"I see how it is," Junpei muttered. Riichi eyed him warily and only had a split second to react when he tightened his arm around her neck. "No love for your old pal Junpei! After all we've been through together." She struggled against him, arms flailing wildly once she realized that she wasn't strong enough to push herself away. "And here I thought we really had something."

He continued feigning sobbing while Riichi thrashed and clawed. "Damnit, let me go you-" the rest of her sentence was cut off as Junpei shot out of his seat, bringing her gasping up with him.

"One year of friendship means nothing."

"I get it already!" the girl moaned as she clutched at the arm around her neck for support.

Junpei ignored her. "I was just some guy who vainly thought we had something."

"I get your point!" she was almost sobbing now.

"But I understand!" He shot an arm in front of him, fingers splayed dramatically. "Someday I'll look back on this time with fond memories. As the time we were almost good friends."

"Junpei if you don't let me go I'm telling your dad you made a pass on me!"

It was finally this jab that made the boy pause. He hesitated, then turned a searching gaze on her. "Wouldn't he be happy with that?"

"I'm a boy," she carefully reminded him.

He made an understanding expression, then seemed to remember himself and leapt away from her. "Damn man! Don't even try that!" The boy gave a fierce shudder and Riichi couldn't help but think of how this might be just a little too overdramatic.

"Dude," one of the boy's in the crowd whined. "You know his parents? How close _are _you two?"

Riichi shrugged and allowed a smile to once again grace her features. "Well, we've been friends for almost a year now," she explained.

"Best friends," Junpei added. "Doesn't matter what he says, he'd be lost without me." The girl cocked an eyebrow before rolling her eyes. "Oh don't give me that," the boy continued to tease. "You know you love me."

She snorted a laugh, "Yeah yeah." Junpei held up his fist and she rolled her eyes again before knocking her own against his.

Ryouji cleared his throat next to them. Riichi focused her gaze on him, taking in his soft smile and curious eyes. "You never did tell me," he began. "How did you two meet?"

Junpei gave a light chuckle and once again threw his arm haphazardly over her shoulders. Riichi could do nothing more than let him. "It's actually a funny story," the boy explained. Riichi shrugged and nodded lightly herself. She had made them have a talk about this before, but after arguments about bad ideas they had decided that whenever their past was questioned the two of them would simply wing it. Or more specifically, Junpei would wing it. Riichi had proven herself very uncreative with these kinds of things.

"So," Junpei began his story, voice overly dramatic. "Here I was, walking around downtown one day. And this is back where I'm from - which is only like twenty minutes away but you get my drift. As I was passing the local Wild Duck, I hear this commotion from the alleyway. So I figure I should check it out. It might be a 'damsel in distress' you know."

Riichi found herself slightly stunned. He was telling how they actually met. She wasn't sure whether this made him a genius, or if it just proved his unyielding stupidity. The girl supposed she would allow him the former if he successfully edited it.

The boy continued, never losing his dramatic aura. If he wanted to pursue a career as an actor, Riichi thought he might actually have a good shot. "I make my way over right; totally stoked because honestly, how many chances does a guy get to play hero?" There were a few murmurs of agreement from the crowd. "Imagine my surprise when I find this guy here," and he gave the girl a good shake in emphasis, "surrounded by a bunch of punks. Now I'm already disappointed because he's obviously not some babe waiting for my machoness-"

"Junpei that's not even a word," Riichi interjected.

"Hush boy," Junpei shook her again. "You shouldn't hate on words that clearly describes your bestest bud. Now as I was saying," he returned to his theatrics. "He wasn't a big-breasted chick, but I figure I can't simply just leave the guy hanging. I mean, that would be cruel and a serious waste of my totally buff bod." Riichi snorted as she attempted to hold back a laugh. Junpei conveniently ignored her. "And let me tell you, these guys were like hardcore. They had knives and shit, and I think one was like, really trying to get at Reech's nipples." This elicited a few gasps of despair and horror from their classmates, and a disturbed curl of Riichi's nose. "They were obviously gonna mug the kid and then cut him up or something."

In all honesty, she really had been something of a damsel in distress. But there had only been two of them, and they were more college kids than they were punks. They had actually been attempting to score a date with her, and a chance to get into her pants. Neither of these suggestions was she particularly interested in. Nor was their sexual harassment appreciated.

"So I'm all ready to step in and be like, 'Yo bitches get offa mah hombre' or some jazz, when I'm totally blown away. Scrawnster here suddenly turns out to be like, the damn Terminator. He kicked the _shit _out of all of them, and didn't even break a sweat!" There were various sounds of awe from the crowd.

She had kneed one in his family jewels and had somehow managed to lodge her elbow into the other's Adam's apple. But Junpei's version did make her sound more badass. She found she preferred it.

"Now since he obviously had things under control, I was ready to split. I mean, I really didn't want him to go apeshit on _my_ ass. But just as I start to turn around, he starts bawling."

Riichi once more wrinkled her nose in irritation. She hadn't been _bawling_. She had almost dislocated her elbow because of bending it weirdly and ended up leaking out a few tears. There was no bawling involved.

"I kind of felt sorry for the poor guy. Even if he could rival Bruce Lee, he was still you know, some kid who was almost mugged. So I walk up to him and crack a couple jokes and am pretty damn successful in getting him to calm down." Junpei grinned and gave a thumbs up, as if this was an amazing achievement all on it's own. "We leave the alleyway, because honestly standing in the midst of a horde of knocked out punks isn't exactly on the top of my to-do list, and I make him let me buy him lunch. We get to talking and well, the rest is history."

Junpei gave her another friendly shake and beamed down at her. "Isn't that right partner?"

The girl couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. "It's like they say," she shrugged. "Friends to the end, and all that jazz." Junpei laughed once again as she playfully elbowed him.

"Aww dude, that's totally not fair," someone in the crowd whined. "Junpei how come you get to be so close to him?"

"Yeah, you should learn how to share."

The boy released her and placed his hands cockily on his hips. "Oh ho, but you all should be thanking me. I'm the whole reason the princess is here in the first place."

"I resent that," Riichi snorted as she made her way back to her seat. The girl unceremoniously flopped back into her chair and tried not to crack a grin at her best friend's antics. She was rather obviously failing.

Ryouji cleared his throat next to her. "You two really are pretty close," he commented, smiling as she shrugged and fidgeted.

"Yeah, I guess," Riichi replied. She didn't know why, but it was kind of embarrassing coming from Ryouji. "I mean, he's an idiot, and has _way_ too much time on his hands to come up with some of the ideas he has; but he's a good guy." She gave a soft smile and a light chuckle. "A really good guy."

The boy at her side only smiled wider. "You should keep him close," he advised, and gave her a soft pat on the shoulder.

Riichi paused before shooting a surprised glance over her shoulder. "Y-yeah," she stuttered, looking away. "I'll be sure to do that."

_(…sounds like a good guy, you should keep him close okay?)_

She bit her lip and then snorted and threw the thought away. That would be stupid, and this wasn't a shoujo manga. Ryouji was her roommate; he was nothing more, nothing less.

oOo

And then the dreaded Saturday came.

They had agreed to meet up in front of a cd shop, and then meet the girls at a café (to which she was kind of excited, but was unable to show because cafes were "girly"). Riichi hadn't been sure why they didn't just all leave together - since going to the same school meant you were usually in the same place at the same time - but had been informed that Kenji had something he needed to do beforehand, and Junpei didn't want to seem like a nerd and have them all walk around together. Ryouji, thankfully, had proposed that the two of them go together. She was beginning to think that maybe she would give the title of 'best friend' to the raven-haired boy. Lord knew Junpei wasn't doing much to keep his ever-coveted status.

Riichi squinted her eyes to get a better look at the figure in front of her. When she had successfully determined their identity, the girl raised her arm and waved lazily. Junpei, after recognizing her, responded in turn, a light grin erupting as she walked closer. "Kenji should be here any minute," he informed her as she stopped beside him. Another perusal of her outfit and he couldn't keep his grin in check. "You know Reech, when you buy clothes you're supposed to make sure they fit."

The girl looked down at her own attire. Her jeans hung loosely on her hips, held up by a black belt with a yellow stripe across the top. The t-shirt she wore was black and covered up mostly by a white hoodie that was about a size too big with sleeves that reached down to her fingertips. She sniffed and brought her gaze back up to narrow at the boy. "Oh shut up. They're Ryouji's," she explained. At his raised eyebrow she elaborated. "He nixed my outfit as soon as he saw me. Then he went on to tell me that I didn't have a decent wardrobe and that if I wanted to impress anyone I'd wear what he told me to." He wasn't that much bigger than her so his clothes had fit somewhat; the fact that she was _wearing_ his clothes was enough to embarrass her though. At this point she just wanted to drop the subject.

Junpei chuckled merrily. "Yeah that sounds like him. Speaking of Ryouji, where is he? You didn't throw him in a ditch on the way here or something did you?" He craned his neck to look behind her in emphasis.

Riichi shrugged and jabbed a thumb over her shoulder. "He said he'd be right back, got a call he apparently had to take. Okamatchi I think his name was." Junpei made a face. "You know him?"

"Yeah," he shrugged. "He's in our grade, class next door actually." The boy stuffed his hands in his pockets, successfully portraying a pout.

"Well aren't you a wealth of information," she commented snidely.

Junpei groaned. "I forgot how gossipy females were," he muttered. Riichi narrowed her eyes at him dangerously. "Alright alright," he shot a glare right back at her. "Don't get your panties in a twist, I'll tell ya." He sighed and scrunched his nose in thought. "His last name's Okamatchi, forgot his first name."

She cocked an eyebrow. "How do you _forget_ someone's name?"

The boy shrugged. "I don't like the guy. Why bother remembering someone's name if you don't get along?" She rolled her eyes but said nothing more. "Now as I was saying, he's one of the richer kids which makes him all superior and shit." He shrugged again and dug his hands further into his pockets. "We just don't get along, or rather I don't get along with him. The guy can't be bothered with just about anyone. He's the Kendo captain though, and all the guys think he's the shit and all that."

So _he _was the mysterious 'Kendo-kun'. Riichi applauded herself on at least getting a name for the guy.

"For some reason though Ryouji gets along real well with him. I asked him why once and he said it was like they were childhood friends."

Riichi cocked her head quizzically, now thoroughly intrigued. "Wait, they are?"

Junpei gave yet another shrug. "I doubt it. Rumors say he didn't show up until like, ten years ago or so. Everyone claims it was because he was sickly though. Guy's father even went on this whole spiel about how he was a very delicate child."

Her head cocked further. "That's interesting," she murmured, not really meaning to be heard.

"What is?"

Riichi jumped and shot her gaze over her shoulder. Ryouji gave a cheerful wave as he smiled down at her. "What were you guys talking about?"

"Oh nothing," Junpei grinned. "Just about how long it was taking you. Gosh, I think I'm growing a mustache over here."

Ryouji laughed. "I should hope not," he joked. "It might scare the ladies away."

"I think he'll do a good enough job of that without one," Riichi muttered, earning a laugh from Ryouji and a scowl from the boy in question. "Anyway, is Kenji going to get here soon? We're already getting strange looks." Riichi shied away from a group of passing girls. They giggled and whispered amongst each other, shooting looks over their shoulders.

Ryouji glanced over at them before giving a light chuckle. "This stuff really bothers you doesn't it," he teased amiably.

The girl shrugged and moved to his other side in order to partially hide herself from the view of passerby. "Doesn't it make you feel uncomfortable?" she asked. Even if the people passing were just interested, it was still a creepy feeling to be watched and talked about.

A shrug was all the boy gave. "I suppose you just get used to it." He settled his gaze back down on her. "I thought you would be used to this kind of treatment as well Rii-kun. I mean, you're not exactly a forgettable face."

Junpei snorted. "You know, some people would kill to be in the position you two are." He narrowed his eyes in a glare.

Ryouji cocked his head, confused at the boy's reaction. "I'm sorry?"

The girl gave her own snort. "Ignore him. He's just mad that every time he goes out with me he gets glared at." She supposed that had been a hit at her own masculinity as well as a jab at Junpei, but she figured she could be forgiven for this one. Another trio of giggling girls made her move closer to Ryouji. She was seriously regretting being a boy right now. Was this how guys felt when she talked about them with her friends? If so, she was making a mental note not to converse about them so obviously.

"They won't hurt you, you know," Ryouji assured her. He chuckled as she scowled up at him.

"You know, if anything the girls will be scared off by you two flirting. Could you tone it down a notch?" Junpei bit.

Riichi focused her glare on him. "You're really sick you know that?" She did though, move about a foot away from her roommate.

"Yo!" Their hostilities were ceased when the last member of their group jogged into view. Kenji looked a little worn out by the time he reached them, but otherwise wore a relatively pleased smile. "Sorry I'm late guys," he panted. "It took a lot longer than I thought."

Junpei raised an amused eyebrow. "Dude, you're like sweating," he pointed out.

The boy looked confused for a moment before nodding. "Well yeah, I had to run here," he snorted. Kenji straightened out and gave them a thumbs up. "So everything is a-okay now. All systems go!" He grinned brightly. Riichi only found his enthusiasm unnerving.

"Kenji what the heck?"

The group once more found their attention focused on a newcomer. A girl was stalking up to them. Her long black hair was held up in a high ponytail, and it swished angrily back and forth as she walked. Her large eyes were glaring at them. "Is this what the big emergency is?" she snapped when she stopped in front of them. "I don't see anybody dying; you better have a damn good reason for dragging me out here."

Kenji scowled right back at her. "Oh come on Rio, lighten up," he grouched. "I promised that I would find a girl to come, and it wasn't like you were doing anything important anyway."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You mean you were serious about that stupid group date thing?"

The boy rolled his eyes before he reached over and snatched Riichi by her upper arm. "Look, if you can't do it for me, do it for this guy," he gripped Riichi tightly and displayed her out in front of him. The girl was far too startled by this new development to put up any resistance. As it stood, Riichi found herself staring stupidly into the startled eyes of this Rio girl. "He's cute right? You know the poor guy gets picked on everyday. He's got a phobia of girls, and everyone teases him for being unable to get a girlfriend." He widened his eyes and placed another, dramatically sorrowful, hand on Riichi's shoulder. "Tell me you don't feel for the poor boy."

By now Riichi's expression had become increasingly flat. Kenji was sounding more and more idiotic as he went on. Before she was able to open her mouth and explain to the boy who would soon have a phobia of women, the girl in front of her gave a weary sigh.

"Fine," Rio conceded. "If it'll make you shut up, but!" and she jabbed a finger into Kenji's shoulder. "You owe me ramen. The special to be specific."

Kenji looked doubtful for a moment before he sighed himself. "Deal." Now brightening, he relinquished his hold on Riichi and clapped his hands to rub together. "Now let's get this party started right," he chirped, considerably more energetic than a few minutes ago. "Onto the café!"

With a grand flourish he set off in the direction that Riichi presumed the building to be. Junpei followed, eager expression now mirroring Kenji's. Ryouji gave the girl a quick pat on the back and a reassuring smile before he began following as well. Riichi sighed and resigned herself to the fact that she wouldn't be getting out of this.

After a few minutes of walking, she was surprised to find that the new girl had fallen into step next to her. "So you're afraid of girls huh?" she ventured, eyes twinkling teasingly.

Riichi rolled her eyes and shook her head. "No, Kenji-kun's just being stupid," she explained. "He found out I don't have a girlfriend and then came up with this ridiculous idea." She found herself sighing. Explaining the situation was only making her more exhausted.

Rio gave a short laugh. "Yeah, that sounds like that idiot," she nodded. "Sometimes it's better to just go with it though. No matter how strange the plan is." They walked in silence for awhile before the girl gently held out a hand. Riichi stared down at it for a moment before realizing what she was supposed to be doing. "Rio Iwasaki," the girl introduced as Riichi clasped her hand and gave it an awkward shake.

"Riichi Kitamura." (It was getting far easier to refer to herself by her adopted name.) They unhooked hands and Rio clasped hers behind her back while Riichi shoved hers back into her pockets. "Well, if worse comes to worse I guess you and me can just bail," Riichi joked.

The girl laughed and nodded merrily. "Sounds like a plan. And maybe it'll teach that moron a lesson or two."

"Is that the scent of love in the air?" Kenji called, grinning back at them.

Rio snorted and called back, "Is that ramen I smell, or is it just the hole I'm going to be burning in your wallet when this is over?"

The boy looked torn between being distressed and getting angry. Finally he settled for scowling and then returning his gaze to the front. Rio allowed herself to grin at her victory.

oOo

"You have got to be kidding me," Junpei moaned. "I knew I should have been worried when you said you had found someone, but I didn't think it would be this bad."

"I said I was sorry."

"Man Reech, did you seriously have to invite _Yukari?_"

Riichi shrugged sheepishly. "Well, I have to keep in contact with her, or she'll blow a gasket and come hunt us down - and Junpei you know she'll make good on her threats." She dug the toe of her shoe into the concrete of the sidewalk. "I just kind of let it slip that I might be showing up on a group outing."

Junpei let out another groan. "I can't believe you would do this to me. To you're old pal Junpei! Inviting the devil-woman herself. You know if she's here we won't have any fun."

"It's not my fault!" Riichi hissed defensively. "I told her an outing, an _outing_. I didn't think she'd be that perceptive."

"Is there something wrong?"

Both of them straightened up at once at the sound of Yukari's voice. The girl arched an eyebrow as they both grinned nervously and chorused, "Nothing at all."

They were saved by Ryouji. "Oh, Yukari-san. It's been a while hasn't it." The boy smiled sweetly at her.

Yukari jumped and took a step away from him. "Not long enough," she snipped. Her eyes darted between him and the pair that were inching away before she steeled herself. "Excuse me, I have other matters to attend to." She twirled towards them, and Riichi felt Junpei tense beside her as the girl got increasingly closer. "Riichi, we're sitting together," she ordered, taking the girl's hand in her own.

Junpei visibly relaxed beside the disguised girl. Riichi, for her part, looked exceptionally surprised. "We are?" she blurted, sounding quite intelligent.

The brunette's eyebrow twitched upward. "Clearly being around idiots twenty-four seven is influencing you," she sighed. "I really just want to sit down now, so can we please move out of the doorway."

They really were taking up quite a bit of space. The café itself was a small building, and having the eight of them standing around in the doorway was clearly creating an inconvenience. The other two girls - who Ryouji had referred to as Miho-chan and Hinata-chan - were not helping keep them low-key with their loud chattering and squeals. If they hadn't been eye-catching enough with just the guys, they certainly were now.

"There's an open table over there." Ryouji held up his hand to point towards the table in question. Riichi found herself immensely thankful that it was generally out of the way.

One of the girls (She hadn't really been paying much attention when they were introduced. She had been otherwise preoccupied with praying that Junpei didn't suffer heart-failure from Yukari's appearance.) giggled and latched onto the boy's arm. Ryouji looked rather surprised at the contact, but didn't make any other indication that it bothered him. "Oh that's a great idea," she tittered.

Riichi found herself sickened slightly. By Yukari's expression, she wasn't any impressed either.

"Then let's grab it before someone else does," Kenji suggested. He began to walk, having to pass Riichi on the way. The boy paused for a moment beside her and gave her a silent slap on the back. "Knock 'em dead tiger," he whispered, giving a rather suggestive wink.

Riichi wasn't sure how to react as she stared at his retreating back. She settled on a snorted, "Yeah, sure." With a roll of her eyes she ignored Yukari's amused expression and allowed the girl to lead her to the table.

The seating arrangement was probably the first thing that showed any promise of being decent. Riichi found herself on the right end of the table, with Yukari in front of her and Ryouji - much to Yukari's chagrin - at her side. Kenji sat next to the raven-haired boy and Junpei was on the other end. Rio had forced herself into the chair opposite Kenji, which ended up splitting the other two up and subsequently allowed only one to be near Ryouji. Needless the say, the one opposite Junpei was none too pleased.

Much to Riichi's amazement, the awkward few minutes that normally preceded one of these, was nowhere to be found.

"So you're Yukari Takeba," Rio commented, leaning forward to get a better look at the girl in question. "I go to the public school around here. Our archery team hates you."

Yukari looked a little taken aback, and Junpei gave a low whistle. "Ouch, that's gotta hurt." He turned a grin on Yukari. "So how does that make you feel Yuka-tan?"

Rio realized her mistake and hurried to correct it. "Oh no, I didn't mean it like that. What I meant is that they complain all the time that they can't beat you." Kenji snickered from his seat across from her. Rio rounded a glare on him and managed to shut him up with a kick to his shin.

Amongst their bickering, the girl across from Ryouji (Miho? Riichi really wasn't sure.) scooted her chair closer to Yukari and leaned on the table to address Riichi. "Kitamura-kun right?" she chirped, waiting for Riichi's nod to continue. "You know you're getting pretty famous around Sevens. Soon you might rival Ryouji-san here." She giggled and pointed a flirtatious finger at the boy.

Ryouji smiled sweetly, but allowed Riichi the floor. The girl found herself cursing him for it as she stumbled through her words. "A-am I? Well that's very flattering, thank you." Her smile twitched as she tried hard not to appear as nervous as she really was. God this was so uncomfortable.

"He doesn't really like that kind of stuff Miho-san," Yukari came to her rescue. Riichi had never loved the girl as much as she did right then. "It makes him rather antsy when it's mentioned."

Miho, as she was confirmed, looked slightly miffed. "You seem to know a lot about him Takeba-san," she chirped, her voice growing a slight edge. "Do you perhaps know each other?"

It was hard to miss the smugness in Yukari's smile. "We're close friends," she answered. "In fact we mail each other every day." The girl indicated her pocket and the pink phone that was peeking out of it.

The girl looked a mixture of baffled and offended. "Is that so?" she stammered. "I wasn't aware that you two were dating."

Both Yukari and Riichi made a face. "Ew," they chorused.

Miho's surprise was even more evident this time. Ryouji, on the other hand, burst into laughter. "Sorry, I'm sorry," he apologized, placing a hand on Riichi's shoulder to help support himself. "It's just, that was pretty much the reaction he gave when I asked him about it."

Riichi puffed her cheeks out and snorted. "So do I take that as relief?" The boy glanced up at her in confusion. "You know, since it's obvious we're not getting together, are you relieved? Does that mean you're _interested _in my dear friend Yukari?"

The expression on Yukari's face was priceless. Unfortunately, Ryouji did not look nearly as repulsed as the girl did. Instead, he simply smiled and shook his head in the negative. "I'm not. I mean no disrespect Yukari-san-"

"None taken," she interjected before he could explain, looking far more relieved then necessary.

"So," the girl at the other end of the table - the one who had been ignoring Junpei the whole time - piped up. "Who are you interested in Ryouji-san?"

The boy cocked his head in thought. The two girls he had invited leaned forward in expectance. "I'm not really sure," he admitted. The looks of despair they each held made him follow up with a, "But you all are very cute." Their twin squeals of delight meant that their previous disappointment had evaporated without a second thought.

Riichi found herself astounded by the simplicity of their minds. Especially when after they were finished they once again rounded on her. "Kitamura-kun, do _you_ have a special someone?" they chorused.

The girl shook slightly in shock before once again stumbling through her words. "Um, well that is, I don't…I mean-" She trailed off, the increasingly eager expressions of the two girls making this even harder for her. Riichi felt herself stuck between a rock and a hard place. For one, if she said that there was someone there would be no end to the amount of questions about their identity. On the other hand, there was no telling what the girls would do if she admitted that she didn't have anyone.

(_It's nice to meet you, my name is…)_

Oh yeah, there was that one person.

Riichi apologized profusely to the imaginary picture in her mind, and swore that she would send him some chocolate or something as compensation. "Actually I do," she admitted, her voice surprisingly confident despite being so shaky earlier.

By now even Junpei and Yukari were looking quite intrigued.

"Wait you do?" Kenji piped up. "Why didn't you tell me then? That was the point of this whole thing!"

Riichi shrugged and ignored the boy's looks of disappointment and betrayal. "I didn't think you needed to know. We don't get to see each other very often though, she travels a lot. So I never really confessed to her."

Kenji snorted and leaned back in his chair, looking more miffed than anything else. The rest of the table though, were now leaning forward in interest. "Tell us about her," the other girl, Hinata if she remembered correctly, pleaded.

"Well, she's very sweet. She's funny without trying to be, is compassionate towards everyone, and is surprisingly protective. She gets really angry whenever I do something potentially dangerous, and is constantly worrying about it. There's also this habit she has of checking up on me behind my back; to make sure that I'm not lying to her about my health and situation and all that." For some reason the lie was coming very easily to her. Riichi even momentarily forgot that she was actually telling the lie. "She's really understanding about my situation, and has given me a lot of support through it. It's thanks to her that I'm able to happy like this now."

Junpei's face fell, and he gazed at her skeptically. "You have got to be kidding me," he snorted. "It's not that pe-"

"Junpei shut up and let her talk." Both Riichi and the boy in question caught Yukari's slip-up, but no one else seemed to. The girl's eyes widened before she settled back down in her seat and clamped her mouth shut to avoid any more mistakes. Riichi was just thankful that her friend was serious about trying to support her decision. "I've never heard any of this, so I'm curious," Yukari finally continued with, and left it at that.

Riichi nodded her head and shot a subtle smirk to Junpei before continuing. "So like I was saying, she's really special. I wouldn't give her up for anything."

Rio was the first one to react. "Wow, that's pretty serious." The girl tapped a finger to her chin in thought. "I really don't understand it that much though. The feeling of having someone that important." Her eyes flickered towards Kenji's still pouting form before she shrugged and resumed smiling at Riichi. "It sounds sweet though. She's a lucky girl."

"What's her name?"

That question was the one thing that made Riichi's high crash back down. She hadn't thought that far; in her frantic stupidity she had only been thinking of saving her own skin. (Though from what she wasn't exactly sure.) A name had not been forefront in importance. She briefly thought of biting the bullet and simply using 'Pharos', but Junpei had been right when he had teased her on that. Pharos wasn't exactly a common name, and it certainly wasn't something that sounded like a girl would be called it. Riichi bit her lip and gave a nervous smile as she desperately grasped for something, _anything_ to help her out. When she finally did come up with a name, she was strangely uneasy about it.

"Minako. Her name is Minako."

The others all looked rather surprised, though she wasn't sure why, nor did she much care. The name had sounded strange to her. It had rolled off her tongue with an uneasy familiarity, but at the same time it had sounded wrong. As if she had botched it up somehow.

"Well now that that's out in the air," Junpei announced, relieving Riichi from the pressure of the other's gazes. "What do you girls like to do for fun?"

Both Hinata and Miho looked almost offended that he had the gall to address them. "Karaoke," one of them sniffed. "And shopping, we do that a lot."

"I can tell," Yukari muttered from her end, ignoring the look of pure hatred Miho sent her.

"Speaking of that," the girls chirped. "Ryouji-san, Kitamura-kun, would you like to come to Karaoke with us afterwards?" Their eyes sparkled in excited expectance, and Riichi was finding it rather hard to keep smiling with them focused so intently on her. "I promise it will be fun, and you can tell us more about Minako-chan." The way her imaginary girlfriend's name sounded when it came out of Hinata's mouth almost made her shiver. The obvious venom was rather unnecessary she thought.

Ryouji placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, and smiled sweetly at the girls. "Actually, we have to go now. I'm terribly sorry, but we have cleaning duty today." He stood up, and gently helped Riichi to her feet. "Shall we go?"

Riichi gazed up at him in a stunned stupor. Ryouji's gaze softened and he nodded his head as if trying to tell her to leave everything to him. The girl couldn't help the grin that tugged at the corners of her lips. "Yeah, we'll be late if we don't," she conceded. "So we'll see you guys later."

Yukari gave her a knowing smirk before tapping her pocket lightly. "I'll call you later okay. Then you can explain to me more about this Minako-chan. Since _I've_ certainly never been privy to this information."

The girl gave a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"Hey, Riichi-kun wait!" Rio stood up from her seat and jogged around the table to stop in front of the now surprised girl. "Let's exchange numbers," she suggested, reaching into her pocket and producing a small blue phone. "Since we're friends now, we should keep in touch, right?"

Riichi smiled brightly. "Of course," she agreed. She pulled out her own phone - the original pink covered by a gray casing - and exchanged it with Rio to input each other's numbers. A giddy feeling bubbled up in her chest. To think, she would still be able to make friends with girls like this. She was slightly sobered by the reminder that she was a boy right now, but decided that didn't matter. Rio was a fun girl to be around, and if by chance she could meet her as a girl herself, it would be all the easier to befriend her again. "Talk to you later okay?" she grinned as they traded phones.

Rio gave her a thumbs up and an equally cheerful grin. "Yeah, you better not forget who it is though."

Riichi felt extremely tempted to giggle like a little girl and guarantee that there was no way that would happen, but stopped herself in favor of mimicking Rio's thumbs up. "Oh Kitamura-kun, let's trade numbers as well," Miho suggested as she jumped out of her seat. Her jerky actions and venomous glances at Rio were making Riichi antsy again though.

Ryouji thankfully seemed to realize this. "We really are going to be late," he explained as he steered the girl towards the entrance. "We'll see you all later, it was a very nice outing." With that they ducked out of the café and into the streets.

Riichi was only able to relax once they had gotten a few blocks away. She sighed and visibly deflated. "Thank god that's over," she exhaled.

The boy smiled and gave her another reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I wasn't aware that it was really that hard for you." He removed his hand to stuff it into his pocket. "I'm sorry about all of that, if I had been aware then I would have helped make up an excuse for you not to go."

She shrugged and straightened back up again. "Nah it's okay. I would have seemed like an even bigger wuss if I had refused. Not that I really showed a lot of manly pride in there as it was." Ryouji chuckled as she jabbed a thumb over her shoulder. "Thanks though, for getting me out of there." Riichi found herself flushing slightly and unable to look up at the boy.

Ryouji simply smiled and nodded. "Hey, what are friends for?" He shrugged as if it were no big deal. "I'm there for you okay. You know, since girls are scary and everything."

Riichi snorted and playfully punched his arm. "Yeah, yeah. You're a knight in shining armor," she joked. Her glare was only halfhearted though, and the smile underneath it was brilliant. They walked for a few more minutes in companionable silence before Riichi felt like opening her mouth again. "So Sir Galahad," she teased, "how long exactly is this dorm cleaning we're supposed to be scheduled for?"

He shrugged, eyes glittering mischievously. "Actually, I received a text awhile ago that said someone had graciously offered to do it for us. It seems we now have a rather large amount of free time on our hands."

"That is a problem," Riichi agreed, trying to hold in her laughter.

Ryouji chuckled himself. "I was thinking, we haven't really had much roommate bonding time. Perhaps we should remedy this? Unless of course you would rather go back to the café."

She held up her hands in mock surrender. "Anything but that." He laughed merrily, and she found herself grinning in turn. "Well, thanks to a certain event I haven't eaten all day. Perhaps we can have a bonding session over a burger?"

"That sounds delightful," he conceded. The mischievous twinkle lit up in his eyes again and he bent down to her eye level. "Perhaps you can tell me more about this imaginary Minako-chan as well."

Riichi knew she should probably be irritated, or even worried that he had seen through her lie, but instead all she could was hold back another round of giggles. " Ah yes, should I tell you about how I saved her from a dastardly villain?"

Ryouji assured her that he would like that very much, and they each continued to tease each other. By the end of the day, Riichi was convinced more than ever before that her roommate was very easily, though unknowingly, worming his way into being her closest friend. She found she didn't mind at all.

oOo

_Dear Pharos_

_So you're roommate's cool? That's awesome, I'm glad you got a good one. Stick up for him though okay. Roommate bonding is very important stuff. Though I'm sure you already know that, being used to this kind of thing and all. _

_For a while, I was actually rather surprised you've been able to deal with this kind of life for so long. Living away from home with a bunch of strangers; pretty much fending for yourself; having to deal with strange things that happen at your school. (I mean, not that I'm exactly the best one to talk to for a normal life and all, but they're different circumstances.) To be honest these past few weeks were kind of strange. I mean __**really**__ strange. For a while I honestly thought I was just going to give up and go back home. Throw in the towel, as one my friends puts it. But then I started meeting people, who helped me meet even more people. It was different. I've had friends before, but I've never had this many people crowding around me at once. I'm not bragging or anything, I'm just saying it was really new for me. And then I got to talking with my roommate, and I decided that it really wasn't bad at all. They said something that reminded me of what you told me. To 'keep at it and don't give up'. So I guess it's pretty much thanks to you that I was able to decide to keep going. You're really something you know._

_Wow, that was kind of cheesy. Actually that was __**really**__ cheesy. I'd erase it, but well, I'm writing in pen and running dangerously low on paper. And if I just sent it to you with a huge paragraph crossed out you'd ask me about it and that would be even cheesier. Why am I ranting in a letter! _

_Anyways, I'm staying safe. You worry too much. My roommate has proved to be very good at deflecting advances on me, so I'm pretty much covered in that aspect. Plus if what you said is true the one who should be worried is me. Since you join in on things that your friend gets 'carried away' on. _

_Thanks a lot for writing to the orphanage. They appreciate what you do for them a lot. They tell me every time I go back how 'big brother' sent them all candy again, or got them another toy. You do quite a lot to make the children happy. I know I haven't shown my face there in a while, but it's been busy. What with potentially having to switch homes again, and then filling out applications to schools, and having to pack and all. Yeah, I'm making excuses now. Wow, it really has been a long time. Brings back a lot of memories though. Like how bad your spelling was back then. Kidding, kidding. _

_So now you have to write something sappy too. Since I did my part and all, it's only fair. All this talk about bonding and stuff has made me realize, you never really talk about your friends. Tell me about the one who gets 'carried away' all the time. Write back soon okay,_

_Orpheus_

_P.S. Well, there's really no reason. Just curious and all you know. Haha_

_P.P.S. What's your favorite snack? For future reference, I'm just curious about that too, it's not like, for anything important. _

_

* * *

_

_I have to say that they aren't in love yet. It's just too soon for them to really be falling for each other, since Ryouji's a ladies man and Riichi's pretty much preoccupied with asserting the fact that she's a manly man. I'm excited to be able to write them getting closer though, so yay? I might have revealed a tad too much in this chapter, but well, you know. It might actually end up leading people away from what's really going to happen too, so I guess I can just hope for that. _


	5. GoGetter Greg

_I have no excuse for how long this took me to get out. And an apology is really not enough to make up for it. But all I can do is say, I'm sorry. Thank you for all the support regardless, and for sticking with this story even though it takes forever. Now to address questions. _

_I can't say **all** the other pairings because it would spoil some things. But Junpei and Chidori are definitely going to be one, as well as some Kenji and Rio. There will probably be a few more, as well as some potential triangles (though since I'm not really a fan of those, that's still being decided.) but I'm still working all of that out. And Fuuka will appear shortly. About another chapter or two and she should show up, I promise. _

_Please continue to review, they realy help motivate me. And thanks again for bearing with the ridiculously long time it takes me to update. So without further ado, enjoy._

* * *

_**Go-Getter Greg**_

Sunday morning, she was awoken to the sound of her door being thrown open.

"You have a lot of explaining to do girly!"

Riichi mumbled something incoherent before proceeding to burrow her way out of her mess of covers. She emerged squinting from the light as her hand went up to scratch at her head - an instinctual habit she had formed in order to make sure her wig was still secure. The girl mumbled something else and attempted to determine the identity of her morning assailant. The intruder paused only to make sure no one else was in the room and to slam her door shut, before he stalked over to her bed and positioned himself right next to her.

"What the hell?" he snarled.

The girl, still not completely awake, squinted further in order to see the boy better. "Junpei?" she finally managed out, though in her sleepiness it was still rather garbled. At the boy's continued glaring she snorted and attempted to bury herself back into her sheets. "Go away," she mumbled. "It's too early for this."

He gave an exasperated sigh. "Reech, it's twelve-thirty. _I_ don't even consider that early." Against her protests Junpei reached down and pulled her back up into a seated position. "Now explain to me damnit, how even though you're a freakin' chick, you still manage to get more than I do?"

Riichi blinked in an attempt to wake herself up some. "What are you talking about?" she asked. "Junpei you sound disturbed."

"I'll show you disturbed you stupid female," he snarled under his breath.

"Rii-kun, is everything alright? I heard something slam."

The two looked up to the sound of the bathroom door being opened. Ryouji stepped outside to get a better look, and the three of them froze in order to stare at each other. "Oh, hello Junpei-kun," he greeted around the toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. "I wasn't aware you were here."

Junpei snorted and gave a lazy half wave. "Hey Ryouji," he returned. His gaze however, was not on the boy's face.

When the raven haired boy still hesitated, Riichi raised her own arm. "I'm okay Ryouji-kun," she assured him. "Junpei just got a little excited."

He gave her a relieved smile. "Oh, okay then. I'll be finished soon." With that he disappeared back into the bathroom.

The room went silent then. When Junpei showed no sign of rounding on her again, Riichi figured that she should at least try to straighten herself up. She set to work on untangling herself from her sheets and had almost freed herself when the boy spoke up again.

"Um, not to butt into your personal business or anything, but does he come out like that every day?"

She looked up into his skeptical face and had to take a few moments to process what he had just said. "Oh, yeah. Pretty much."

Junpei covered his mouth with his hand and scrunched his face up in thought. "Well, I mean I know you two are roommates and everything, and I know you're supposed to both be guys. But doesn't that kind of, well, bother you?"

The girl managed to untangle her sheets and threw them to the foot of her bed. "At first," she admitted. "But I guess I got used to it. It's not really a big deal anyway. One of my stepbrothers used to do it too."

The boy sighed and moved his hand to cross his arms over his chest. "Yeah but Ryouji's not one of your numerous stepbrothers. He's your _roommate_." He paused again and tried to think of the correct way to say this. "I just, I guess I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that my two best friends pretty much see each other naked every day."

Riichi snorted. "He wears a towel you know," she reminded him. "It's not like he comes out in the buff. Most of the time he's in his underwear anyway." She stretched her arms lazily over her head. "And I always wear all my clothes, so he hasn't seen anything at all."

Junpei, seeming to decide that he was getting nowhere, just sighed. "Alright yeah, whatever." A sudden thought occurred to him, and he leaned down to get eye level with her. "So like, is that what eye candy is for you girls?"

Riichi blinked once, twice, and a third time. "Junpei," she began. "Did you just admit you think Ryouji's attractive?" She had to try really hard to hold back the fit of hysterical laughter as she watched the color drain from the boy's face.

"W-what! _Hell_ no!" he jumped back and glared daggers at her. "Why would you even suggest something like that? That's creepy, and disturbing, and oh my god I've been defiled!" He shuddered, clasping his head in his hands.

The girl only snickered more. "Now, imagine you're a girl forced to go onto a group date to hook up with other girls. Tell me how you feel _now_."

The boy stopped his dramatics and snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah, I knew there was a reason I came." He rounded on her, serious glare back in place. "So yesterday was a complete and utter disaster. And you're completely to blame for it all."

"I have a hard time believing that," she snorted back.

He ignored her. "First things first, you invited Yuka-tan. _Who_ in their_ right mind_, invites _Yuka-tan _to those things?" The girl just shrugged, already bored of this. "Secondly, you had those girls all over you right from the damn start."

Riichi felt she needed to correct this statement. "Ryouji had them for quite a bit in the beginning. I was merely a curiosity."

"Oh yeah, cuz them drooling all over you like rabid dogs is just curiosity. You're so right Reech." She decided not to comment on the fact that that was exactly how she thought of the girls. Rabid, freaky, dogs. "Do you have any idea what happened after you and Ryouji went to go gallivanting around like a couple? Let me tell you."

The girl slid out from her bed and tried to maneuver around him in order to make it to her dresser. "Oh it's quite alright. I'll just imagine it," she called back, ignoring his seething as she fumbled with one of the drawers. Damn thing stuck every time.

Her sarcasm was once again ignored. "So Kenji decides to bail because he's got to take that girl friend of his out to get ramen or something. Which is great and all, no one was over thirty so they were all out of the running anyway. So I try to cozy up with one of those lovely chicas Ryouji was kind enough to invite, and you know what happens?"

"Enlighten me," she bit. Riichi gave a rather murderous shove at the drawer and the wood responded with an almost clicking sound. When she pulled on the handle the thing slid out easily.

"They glare at me! In fact they almost look offended I had the gall to exist." He groaned in agonized frustration. "But then I remember what an uproar you caused, so I suggest that I tell them all about your little boy-toy, penpal 'thing'."It was Riichi's turn to look offended. "His is _not _a boy-toy. And don't you _dare_ insult him anymore you ass!" she snarled, leveling an utterly livid glare at him.

Junpei was not the least moved. Instead he continued his rant. "They go for it! In fact they're all over that idea in a matter of seconds. So just when I'm thinking, 'Score!' it happens." He paused for dramatic effect. It took a few minutes for Riichi to think that maybe he had actually wanted her to guess, but by the time she had begun to think of a proper (which meant snide) response he had already started up again. "Yuka-tan, devil among devil-women, crushes all my dreams!" That certainly hadn't been what she expected. Now intrigued, Riichi forgot all efforts at retrieving a full outfit. She left the drawer open and simply stood there with her sweatpants draped haphazardly over her elbow. Though curious, she didn't make any move to encourage the boy and instead stood there expectantly. Junpei didn't seem to mind this and continued anyway. "Yuka-tan grabs my wrist and tells me I can't 'go play around' because she needed to talk to me about something important."

Riichi felt a corner of her mouth twitch at this information. "So she disrupted your attempts at flirting eh?" she cooed mischievously. "That's interesting."

The boy curled his lip. "I know what you're thinking and I'm telling you right now that it's disgusting." He visibly shivered. "Trust me when I say Yukari's got no interest in me as a guy. That demon woman only uses me as a means of entertainment."

The girl's interest waned slightly. "Is that so," she put in, more out of necessity than actual care. Riichi returned to the process of acquiring clothes. She forced the drawer back shut and moved up to the top drawer in order to dig around for a shirt.

With a roll of his eyes, Junpei resumed his ranting. "I try to tell her it can wait, and then she gets that look in her eye and drags, you heard me right, _drags_ me away!" There were literal tears in his eyes now. Riichi regarded them blandly before signaling for him to turn around. He did so without complaint. The sound of rustling cloth pervaded the air, and Junpei had half a mind to whirl around and ask the girl why she was changing when Ryouji had quite a good chance of walking in any minute. But the rustling stopped soon after and he realized that she had finished. (It only occurred to him later to ask her how the heck she had gotten so fast at changing.) But with the danger of his best friend's capture out of the way, the boy figured he might as well carry on. "So I think maybe she's really got something important to talk about. If she's being so pushy - though I guess that's not really unusual - then there must be something huge bothering her." He turned back around to directly address her, only faltering slightly when he realized she was now paying more attention to rifling through her drawers for socks than she was to him. "You know what the big need was though?"

Riichi shrugged, only half-listening, and slammed her drawer shut in exasperation. "She was making sure you knew the necessity of safe sex and how to properly perform it?" she tried.

Junpei had to pause for a moment. His face screwed into an expression of disbelief and slight irritation. "Wow Reech. You're really doing a good job at pretending to be a guy. Nasty mind and all."

She glared at her dresser and mumbled under her breath, "I'm only half as bad as you, you gutter-minded moron."

"Anyway, no, that wasn't what she was yapping about," he informed her, sounding far more snappish then she thought necessary. "No, what our dear Yuka-tan wants to know is about you!" Riichi finally tore her attention away from her clothes to focus mildly surprised eyes on the boy. "She wants to know if I'm keeping a good eye on you, and if you're eating right, and if Ryouji's making moves on you - which would be creepy because you're technically a guy now."

Riichi picked up her pajamas and threw them haphazardly into the clothes basket next to her dresser. "That doesn't make sense," she argued when she had finally turned her full attention back on the boy. "I talk with Yukari pretty much every day. She shouldn't need to interrogate you to get information."

Junpei snorted. "Apparently she doesn't trust you to tell the truth anymore." He smirked when Riichi scowled in aggravation. "Great level of trust you two have going on here," he taunted making her glare sharpen even more. "After she's milked me for all that information though, she starts going on about that stupid pen pal of yours. Now I really don't care about your pervert friend or whatever-" (Riichi had to resist going for the guy's throat. It was proving to be an overwhelmingly appealing desire.) "-but I'll be damned if she was going to let me go until she had the guy's birth story." He shivered at the memory of it. "It took me over an hour to get her to finally accept the fact that I don't know anything about the guy. That was hours of torture that she put me though, because you missy are about the worst girl friend in existence. Aren't you supposed to _share_ that kind of shit with your other girly friends?"

Riichi ignored this last jab, she was too preoccupied with processing what Junpei had just told her. So Yukari was worried enough to interrogate the boy for that long? It was certainly putting into question the amount of trust the girl had in her. Riichi felt almost betrayed that Yukari didn't think she would get the information if she had just contacted her herself. She pursed her lips into a kind of pout and sulked.

"Are you even listening to me?" Junpei tried. He sighed when the girl showed no signs of having heard him. "Oi, Reech," he called.

Riichi gave a start, having been so caught up in her thoughts she had forgotten he was there. "Yeah?" she finally replied when she had regained her bearings.

He couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You know if you zone out like that you're going to get found out." She looked momentarily offended, as if the mere thought of her being the reason for her real gender getting exposed was simply asinine. But Riichi allowed it to pass and instead focused slightly pointed eyes on the boy. "Hear me out a'ight. I personally don't care if you give the she-devil the time of day. But Yuka-tan's a worrywart, and when you don't have your girl talks with her she goes all apeshit on me." Riichi cocked an eyebrow at this. Junpei sniffed and had to avert his eyes at the amused smile that was slowly creeping onto the girl's features. "So you know, take care of yourself okay. And make sure she knows you're taking care of yourself."

Since it was really rare that Junpei showed his caring side, Riichi had to force herself not to tease him. "Thanks man," she settled on. The girl linked her hands behind her back and strode over to stand right in front of him. "I appreciate it, really. And I'll try to keep Yukari off your back. Though I can't really promise anything there for, you know, obvious reasons." They each chuckled, tension erased by laughing at their other friend. And then because she really couldn't help herself, Riichi allowed her impish smirk to resurface. "You know Junpei, you'd probably get a girlfriend if you got all sappy like this more often."

The boy's face fell at once. "Dude that's totally not cool!" he snarled at her. He made a move to grab her in which Riichi escaped backwards.

She laughed mockingly as he growled in irritation. "Well it can't hurt to change up your strategy can it? Your grand total of 'zero times scored' might actually go up for once," the girl continued to taunt.

Junpei stopped after that, and in response Riichi ceased moving as well. Each of them had taken up a defensive stance on either side of Ryouji's bed. Riichi had positioned herself safely on the side closest to her own bed, and thus closer to the bathroom. Unfortunately this also gave Junpei an easier time of maneuvering around the beds, since he wasn't in-between them. The girl inwardly cursed, but showed no outward signs of her distress. It was only when Junpei grinned maliciously that she allowed her brow to furrow.

"I really don't think you have room to talk," he told her. "You sexually challenged cross dresser."

The girl let a furious snarl rip through her throat. "Whose fault do you think it is that I'm here!"

It was at the same time that she let out a second roar that Ryouji once again reemerged from the bathroom (now adorning pants) looking bewildered and worried about what was transpiring between the two. When he saw Riichi looking utterly feral, he scrambled over at once. The girl was mid-pounce by the time he finally reached her. Riichi had one leg already on top of his bed, her upper body bent in order to give her better leverage to propel forward. Ryouji wasted no time in grabbing her, hooking his arms under the girl's armpits and pulling up and backwards in order to stop her assault.

At his touch Riichi thrashed and fought to get free, more out of an animalistic fear and desperation than any further attempts to assault the other boy in the room. "Riichi!" Ryouji gasped as the girl delivered a surprisingly painful elbow to his ribs. "Riichi it's me! It's Ryouji! Settle down-please settle down!"

Riichi stopped abruptly, surprise etched clearly on her features. Slowly the girl's hostile aura faded and she allowed herself to relax. By the time she had completely quieted down she was pretty much hanging in her roommate's arms.

"Are you okay now?" Ryouji ventured, still cautious.

The girl nodded slowly. She refused to speak, afraid that if she did something idiotic would come out. The boy holding her sighed in relief and finally released her. The girl snuck a quick glance behind her, determining Ryouji's expression before she made any further moves.

Junpei, unfortunately, beat her to the punch. "My god Ryouji," he sighed, exhaustion and relief evident in his voice. "You're really something. To be able to tame the beast so easily is admirable."

Ryouji gave a slightly nervous chuckle. "I'm not so sure about that," he replied. "Riichi-kun's not at all as unmanageable as you make him sound." He glanced back down at her, and upon taking in Riichi's shaking shoulders (and Ryouji found himself almost shivering at the sheer animosity coming off of his roommate) began to speak again. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't bait him so much though." This came as a shock to both Riichi and Junpei, who looked at him in surprise. "It' not really healthy for him to get worked up like that so much, and he had a hard day yesterday."

The other boy snorted and Riichi shot him an arrogant look, clearly pleased at her win. "Alright, I see how it is." He sighed, rolled his eyes, and walked towards the door. "I've already done what I came for, but I do have one thing more to say." He stopped in front of their door and pointed an imposing finger at Riichi. The girl responded by cocking a slightly offended eyebrow. "Ryouji, I'm warning you. Girly-boy over there might seen harmless, but he's a fiend in disguise. You let him and he'll wrap you around his finger." He shook his arm to emphasize his point. When he had finished his warning he gave Ryouji another once over and ended with, "And dude, put on a shirt." He then disappeared into the hallway.

The two left in the room each exchanged looks. Riichi finally rolled her eyes. "Ignore him," she told her roommate. "He's just sore that he didn't get some yesterday."

Ryouji laughed. "It's okay." He gave her a reassuring smile, which made it impossible for her to not return it. "In all actuality, I think he's feeling lonely."

Riichi's smile faded into incredulity. "I really doubt that," she replied. The girl stretched her arms over her head and then traveled back to her dresser in order to resume her search for socks.

"Really?" the boy tried. Riichi glanced behind her to see his rather amused smile. "You guys are best friends aren't you? The first week you were here you two were almost inseparable." She shrugged as if to say, 'So what'. Ryouji's amusement only grew. "So, I think he's jealous."

The girl, having resigned herself to wearing day-old socks from her hamper, couldn't help but snort in laughter at this. "You really think he's jealous?" she laughed. "I'm not quite sure we're talking about the same guy here."

His eyes only twinkled more. "I think I know what I'm talking about," he chuckled. "I'm pretty sure Junpei-kun doesn't appreciate the fact that you're hanging out with me more than him."

Riichi shot him another look. She met Ryouji's laughing eyes, and found herself thinking maybe there was some truth in what he was saying. The girl crossed her arms over her chest and softly padded over to stand in front of the boy. "So, let's say you're right, and the joker really is jealous that he's not 'bestest bud number 1' anymore. In order to heal his wounded heart, does this mean we're going to go back to kindergarten and start ignoring each other?"

Ryouji chuckled once more and focused a merry smile on her. "Well, I'd like to think I'm chivalrous enough to do that, but I think I might have to keep monopolizing you. I'm a rather selfish guy after all, and you are a good friend."

The girl had to hold back a bout of laughter. "I guess I'll let you," she joked. "Maybe it'll teach Junpei how to share a little." While Ryouji was thanking her, Riichi took a moment to take the boy in again, which was made increasingly easier by the fact that he was topless. Junpei's whole freak out earlier had made her once again conscious of the fact that she was living in the same room as a guy. (Being around them all hours of the day kind of desensitized you to it after awhile.) She hadn't really thought about it since her first few days there, but Ryouji really did have a nice body.

(_So like, is that what eye-candy is for you girls?_)

She pursed her lips lightly and stared hard at her roommate's chest. Yes, Ryouji _certainly_ had a nice body.

"Um, Rii-kun? Are you okay?"

Ryouji brought her back to the present and Riichi found her gaze shooting up immediately. She smiled reassuringly at the boy and gave a kind of half nod. "Oh, yeah I'm cool," she said. The girl drifted around him and returned to her desk. She seated herself and pulled out her math homework in an almost futile effort to get some of it done (by god trigonometry was hellish). When this wasn't successful though, she decided to nip the problem of her concentration in the bud.

"Hey Ryouji-kun," she called, looking up. The boy paused halfway through putting a shirt on. (Riichi was only slightly sad.) They continued staring at each other for a few moments before Riichi placed her pencil down, leaned back in her seat, and grinned. "Thanks," she said, and then promptly went back to her work.

Ryouji stood there in mild confusion. "Um, you're welcome?" he tried, unsure of how exactly he was supposed to respond to that.

oOo

Despite the weekend having been so ridiculously eventful, her week found itself almost boring. Riichi was not one to complain, she was certainly thankful for the sudden calm that had found her; it was far better than the shenanigans she had found herself in the past few weeks anyway. So it was almost strange when Friday rolled around and she was sought out once again.

"Riichi Kitamura?"

The girl looked up from her conversation with Kenji and gazed at the disrupter quizzically. The boy was skinny and his stance was geared so that he looked almost nonexistent. He shook slightly once he realized her gaze was on him, and began to fidget uncomfortably. Riichi was prepared to find Ryouji and make him get rid of the boy when he finally did manage to pipe up.

"Um," he began, fumbling through his words. He paused again and nervously snatched his glasses off in order to wipe them on his shirttails with shaky fingers. "I was told to inform you," he said once he had regained his nerve. "That you are wanted in the student council room." The boy stood there for another moment and his lips moved silently, as if he was reciting a speech. When he seemed to have been satisfied with it he bowed low. "Thank you for your time," he squeaked before scuttling off.

Riichi simply sat there, her eyes widened slightly in disbelief.

Kenji elbowed her lightly. "Well that's a surprise," he said, bringing her out of her daze. "Normally the prez can't be bothered to get off his high horse to talk to us 'common folk'." The boy laughed at his own joke and elbowed her again. "Better go see what he wants. You might get locked in the stocks if you disobey his highness."

He laughed again as she felt her nose curl. "That sounds pleasant," she snorted. "You make him sound like such a fun person."

The boy shrugged, eyes twinkling in amusement. "Well, I'll take good care of your stuff if he spirits you away."

The girl snorted in order to hide her chuckle and slipped off the desk. "Just make sure you leave my snacks to Junpei. He's been trying to bum them off'a me for a while now." Kenji called back but she was already out the door and out of earshot.

Riichi felt herself heave a sigh as she strode down the hallway. The student council had various rumors surrounding them, none of which were exceptionally pleasant. In most of them the president was depicted as a tight-assed dictator who was out for blood. While Riichi wasn't particularly worried for her safety, she couldn't help but be slightly concerned for the meaning of her summons. To her knowledge she hadn't broken any rules, and while she hadn't exactly been under the radar it wasn't like she was notorious for bad behavior. The thought that maybe her gender had come into question had briefly flashed through her mind, but if that was the case she would have been called down to the principal's office and not the student council room. It just didn't make sense.

She ascended the stairs and upon reaching the third floor made a b-line to the end of the hall. She had to force herself to ignore the stares from the seniors. Riichi supposed it couldn't really be helped. The younger grades rarely made their way to the top floor. It didn't really help that she was the idol, making her an even bigger rarity. She couldn't really stop herself from rolling her eyes when she passed a group of seniors who had been shocked into standing completely still though.

"Men," she muttered darkly.

Her feet stopped just outside the door at the end of the hall. The large plaque beside it read 'Student Council' in innocent black letters. Despite the fact that it was harmless, Riichi couldn't help but feel a dark sense of foreboding emanating from it. Her hand lifted to place itself gently on the handle, and then she felt herself hesitate. Maybe she could get away with not showing up after all. If she was really needed the president could hunt her down himself. She pretty much had the backing of almost the whole student body anyway, he wouldn't really be able to do much to her. (It was almost alarming how she had grown so accustomed to her fan base to think of using them.)

Riichi clucked her tongue and came to the decision that it wouldn't work. It was easier just to get this stuff over with quickly anyway. With renewed determination, she gripped the handle tightly and pushed the door open.

The girl stepped into the room with her head high and her shoulders squared. This show of pride was lost however when she realized that the three occupants in the room had frozen. Upon further inspection, it was actually only two of them who had become motionless. The third one was standing at the head of the long table that dominated the room and glaring holes in her. "Um, hi," she began lamely, raising a nervous hand in greeting. "I'm Kitamura," the girl introduced. She was becoming quite afraid that if she stayed like this anymore the scary-looking one was going to order some henchman to teach her a lesson.

A look of understanding flashed across the dark one's face. He gave a curt nod before turning his attention to the other two, who were still gaping stupidly. "You two may leave," he ordered, his tone clipped and commanding.

The two boys jumped at the sound of his voice, and after processing what he had said they each hurried to do as commanded. They scurried out of the room, and the door closed behind them with an almost eerie click. Riichi wasn't sure how comfortable she was being alone with this guy. She still wasn't sure why she had been summoned, and though she wasn't a 'girl' (so she wasn't afraid for her chastity) she was still fair game when it came to getting the shit kicked out of her. Student council president or not, this guy was damn intimidating."Riichi Kitamura," the boy finally spoke up. She snapped to attention, feeling almost foolish despite the fact that he didn't seem to notice. "I'm pleased that you decided to actually show up. I was expecting you to simply skip out on it."

Riichi was feeling even more ridiculous than before. She had a _decision_? So she could have simply decided to avoid this whole thing? Trying to redeem what little of her pride was left, and subsequently trying not to seem like some pushover to the guy, she clenched her fists. Before she could speak her mind though the boy began talking again.

"Well that saves me the trouble of looking for you." Despite his condescending attitude he was looking pretty pleased with her. This was enough to get Riichi to shut her mouth again, clicking her teeth in the process. He shuffled the papers in his hands with a strange sort of propriety, and placed them in a neat stack on the table in front of him. Now fully settled, he focused an arrogant and yet surprisingly friendly smile on her. "I'm sorry, it was terribly rude of me to not have introduced myself yet. I'm the student council president, Hidetoshi Odagiri."

The girl found herself speechless. It was rather troubling, she thought, that this guy was able to put her through such a rollercoaster of emotions in such a short period of time. Dangerous even. "Um, I'm Riichi Kitamura. But I guess you already knew that." She was beginning to point out the obvious now. The girl figured she should probably get this done quickly, before she degraded herself any more than she already had. "So what did you need me for?" she finally managed.

Hidetoshi gave a light 'ah', and clasped his hands properly behind his back. "Yes, it's good to get straight to business." Riichi found herself confused all over again, but decided to think he was agreeing with her. The boy once again focused his gaze straight on hers. His eyebrows knitted slightly and he took on quite a serious demeanor. "I have heard that you are almost inseparable from the two individuals Junpei Iori and Ryouji Mochizuki. Is this correct?"

A hesitant and confused nod was all Riichi could manage. "Um, yes?" He gave his own curt nod. By his expression Riichi wasn't sure whether he was pleased or dismayed that he had been right. "Ryouji is my roommate you know," she followed up.

"Oh yes, I'm quite aware of the rooming situations of the students," he assured her, sounding quite arrogant. Riichi found herself wondering why he needed to ask her then, since he was obviously so well informed. "That wasn't what I was getting at though," he interrupted her thoughts. The boy's persona had once again taken on a rather pained expression. For a moment he remained silent, and the girl was under the impression that he was actually grasping for a way to correctly convey what he wanted to say. Then he steeled his expression and focused his gaze back on her. "Riichi-kun, I wish to enlist your help in the student council."

For some reason, this failed to process with the girl. Riichi cocked her head and responded with a rather intelligent, "Huh?"

Hidetoshi didn't seem all that surprised with this reaction. He did look a little exasperated though. "I wish for you to join the student council," he explained, twirling his hand in a circle.

Riichi opened her mouth in a light 'o', though it still took her a minute to be able to form a response. "You want me?" she asked, pointing an incredulous finger at herself. "Like, seriously me, to join?"

The boy let out an exhausted sigh. "I see that hanging around with those two has already damaged your cognitive ability."

Feeling slightly miffed at his jab at her friends, Riichi hastened to defend herself. "I understand what you're asking! I just don't understand why you want _me_ to join. It's not like I've shown any leadership abilities." She snorted and crossed her arms to appear more irritated. The nerve of this guy, treating her like she was stupid.

Hidetoshi nodded, and for some reason he looked rather smug. "I see. I suppose that would be a valid reason for confusion." Valid indeed, the girl found herself wanting to snarl. "Allow me to explain then." He straightened his attire, and when finished crossed his arms as well. Unlike Riichi though he appeared far more put together in this position. "You're the scholarship student right? Which of course means that you're a very exceptional person." The girl couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed at this depiction of her. "Along with good grades you must have a good character, and certainly common sense."

If he kept talking like this he was going to make her blush. In fact Riichi felt her face heat up quite a bit already.

"But." This brought her back and Riichi found that Hidetoshi's expression had soured into one of distressed thought. "One is greatly influenced by those they associate with regularly. While I am sure that they are, _nice_ boys, the individuals Junpei Iori and Ryouji Mochizuki are, sorry to say, morons." Riichi couldn't help the eyebrow that ticked upwards. Without even seeming to notice, the boy continued on. "Are you aware, Riichi-kun, that those two are known throughout the school as the 'Idiot Duo'?"

A pregnant silence filled the air. The two stared at each other, neither changing expressions and except for the occasional blink refusing to look away. It was Riichi that ended up breaking the silence. She exploded into laughter, bending forward in order to clutch wildly at her stomach. Hidetoshi looked rather taken aback at this outburst, having obviously not expected such a reaction. By this time Riichi had fallen so far into her laughter that she had just about collapsed. One hand clung weakly to the edge of the table in an attempt to support herself.

"That-that was great," she managed to gasp once she had regained some of her breath. Rising back up on shaky legs Riichi tried to calm herself down at the same time as reassuring Hidetoshi of her sanity. "Idiot Duo? That's priceless." Hidetoshi didn't seem as if he knew how to respond to this. Riichi was under the impression that people didn't normally react that way in his presence. She sucked in a deep breath and was finally able to calm herself down. "If I join," she tried, treading carefully. "What exactly am I supposed to be doing?"

The boy relaxed at this, no doubt relieved at the change of topic. "You will be taking notes at meetings, organizing documents, things of that nature. It's all relatively easy, especially for someone like you."

Riichi knew he didn't mean anything by it, but that explanation had sounded like he was trying to make her into a secretary. In all honesty she didn't really want to be saddled with the extra work anyway. Being on the student council, she had learned from an earlier experience, was stressful, and she already had a lot to deal with in keeping her scholarship, something that required her to at least stay in the top three of her class. It wasn't that she didn't like Hidetoshi, in fact he had proven to be pretty entertaining in his own right. This was just something she didn't want to deal with right now.

Having the boy in question clear his throat brought her attention back to him. "I would appreciate it if you would seriously consider my offer." He crossed his arms back over his chest and resumed his arrogant tone. "If it's any consolation, by accepting my offer you will be working on most of the school-sponsored events." The girl wasn't exactly sure how that was supposed to be tempting. As if sensing her confusion, Hidetoshi's grin widened. "Well, since you will be working on them, it would be rather hard for you to participate in the events involving the 'idol'."

The girl paused and for a moment she was seriously tempted to hug the boy. He had said that she would really only be in charge of note taking, and if she wasn't forced to participate in whatever stupid things being the 'idol' entailed then there went a whole slew of worries that had been plaguing her. Riichi hesitated, pondered the idea, and then raised a weak hand. "I'm not sure if I can make every meeting," she warned him.

Hidetoshi didn't seem fazed in the least. "That's quite alright. Someone in your position has other matters that need to be attended too. I understand."

Not missing a beat she brought up her other condition. "And I'll still be hanging around Junpei and Ryouji-kun."

This produced a slightly distraught grimace from the boy, but Hidetoshi only let it show for a moment. "Well, I'll be satisfied with at least giving you a chance to be around good influences. I really can't dictate who you spend your time with, although it is rather distressing company." He screwed his expression back into that arrogant poker face. "So if that is all you are worried about, may I take it that you accept?"

Riichi had to take another moment to think about it. She really didn't want to do the work, but the perks! Oh the perks were so damn hard to resist. Finally she heaved a large sigh and nodded. "Alright, I'll accept your offer."

If she hadn't known better, the smile that graced the boy's face seemed almost childishly giddy. "Excellent. I'll be expecting great things from you then." It was all Riichi could do to simply nod back at him. When he realized that she wasn't moving he took on a surprised expression. "Oh, you may go now, I'm sure you have things to do."

The girl gave another mechanic nod, still not entirely sure what had just transpired, and turned to exit the room. She was turning the knob when Hidetoshi called again to her. "Thank you again for accepting this position." Riichi twisted her neck to focus her gaze on the boy's smile. "I appreciate any help you are able to give us." She smiled back and nodded yet again, this one much stronger than the last two.

With that she pushed open the door and stepped outside. What greeted her were the startled expressions of the two boys they had just been talking about.

"Oh, um, Rii-kun are you okay?" Ryouji stumbled, still unable to fully recover. "We heard you got called up here and got worried."

Junpei snorted, but by the fact that he refused to look at her it was an obvious cover for his own worry. "We figured demon president was going to eat you or something. Your bodyguard here almost had a hernia when he heard about it."

Ryouji scowled lightly. "You weren't any better," he hastened to remind him. "Rii-kun's gonna laugh at you if you keep acting shy like that." Junpei looked over in surprised offense.

Riichi really did laugh then. The two boys looked back at her in surprise. The girl kept snickering as she grabbed both of them by the forearms and turned them around to walk back down the hallway. "Thanks for your concern guys," she said around her laughter. "But I'm okay, I promise." She let go of them once she was sure that they were following on their own, and shoved her hands into her pockets. A thought suddenly occurred to her, and Riichi couldn't help but start chuckling again. "So I'm guessing we're now an 'idiot trio' right?"

Junpei looked even more offended than earlier. "I resent that," he snorted. But his scowl quickly melted into a cheeky grin. "But yeah, I guess we're a trio."

"And while I don't think we're unintelligent, some would correctly argue that we are idiots," Ryouji followed up, chuckling himself. "I think Rii-kun is correct in his assumptions."

Riichi grinned and let out an amused sigh. "I guess there's no helping it then."

"You're stuck with us," Junpei assured her, throwing a haphazard arm over her shoulder. "Really nothing you can do about it now can you." She let out another round of laughter.

oOo

Dammit Kenji, that bastard. There was a limit to the amount of harassment one could endure, and he had crossed it a _long_ time ago. Riichi swore if she heard one more thing about girls and the practice of dating them she was going to shoot someone. That someone may or not be herself.

It had been about a month and a half since Riichi had began school as a boy; almost three weeks since the famous group date that had just about killed the girl. Riichi had thought that the utter disaster the whole thing had been would have deterred Kenji from any future attempts. Obviously she had thought wrong. The boy never failed to give not-so-subtle hints at his plans for another try. At first it had been mildly amusing, but by the second week, and the fact that he was now pestering her every time they saw each other, Riichi was just about ready to tell the boy exactly what he could do with his suggestion.

The girl groaned in exasperation as she hastily shut the door to the roof behind her. This was the only hiding place she had left, since Kenji had managed to find her in all the other places she had tried. (Even the student council room and the threat of Hidetoshi hadn't been enough to deter the boy for long.) Students technically weren't allowed up there, but the door was never locked and Riichi figured what the staff didn't know wouldn't hurt them or her scholarship. Really the only thing she was mildly worried about was having Hidetoshi find out she was breaking rules. Lord only knew the heart attack it would give the boy. Though she did find it kind of funny to think about.

"If he finds me up here, I'm going to have to start hiding in Junpei's closet," she muttered under her breath. The thought made her shiver.

But enough with the nonsense. Her arms stretched far above her head and Riichi gave a little sigh of pleasure. It was actually really nice up here. It wasn't warm enough yet to shed her long-sleeved blazer, but it certainly wasn't freezing anymore. Chilly maybe, but the breeze felt refreshing. She allowed herself a giggle, something she hadn't done in a long while. Hands clasped giddily behind her back the girl almost floated further into the expanse of the roof.

And then she saw it. Riichi paused and her previously giddy smile twitched. In the middle of the roof, lain out almost carelessly on what seemed to be a makeshift bench, was a boy.

Riichi wasn't exactly sure what her first instinct was. All she knew was that by the time she had regained her bearings she found she had been frozen in place. After standing there in a frightened one-sided stare down with the boy, she realized he was asleep. "Oh thank god," the girl breathed, voice not even loud enough to be called a whisper. She was prepared to turn around and march back off the roof (even if that did mean she was back in dangerous territory) when there was a small grunt.

Freezing again, Riichi focused her gaze on the boy. He gave another groan and shifted slightly before reaching up a lazy hand and pulling off the beanie covering his face. His shoulder-length brown hair fluttered lightly as he sat up. The boy blinked groggily, trying to force himself further awake.

It was now or never, she thought. If she didn't leave now he would realize she was there, and god only knew how angry he would be that she had woken him up. She took a slow step back. The only sound that came from her was the dull tapping of her sole against the concrete, but it was apparently enough to alert the boy of her presence.

When Riichi looked back up, she found herself locking eyes with him. Her eyes widened at the same time that his narrowed. When it was apparent that he wasn't going to make the first move, Riichi let out a shaky laugh. "Um, sorry about that," she tried, voice strained in apology. "I didn't know someone was already up here." He gave an unimpressed grunt. "So um, sorry about wakin'ya. I'm gonna go back now."

"What are you doing here?"

She had been fully prepared to turn on her heel and dash down the stairs, but the gruff question stopped her short. The girl raised her gaze back up, and almost shuddered at how sharp his eyes now were. "Oh well, Kenji-or Tomochika, he was um, being an idiot and I had to get away, you know for some peace. So I figured this was the best place, and I came up here and well you were here, and I was trying to leave before making any noise but then I guess I did anyway-" The girl went from being speechless to rambling. She was pretty sure she was digging herself a bigger hole by the minute, but she really didn't know what else to do, and now that she had started it was kind of hard to stop talking.

The boy's gaze, if it was even possible, got even sharper. "I don't give a shit why you're here," he growled, successfully silencing her. "What I want to know is why you're _here."_

Riichi's eyebrows furrowed in light confusion for a moment before she was able to put two and two together. As if sensing her realization, the boy lazily pulled himself up. Now standing at full height, he shoved his hands in his pockets and gazed down at her.

"You know this is an all-boys school right?"


	6. Dirty Little Secret

_It's out! (Finally right?) This would have been out yesterday, but I lost power and cable and while I got my power back it took over twenty-four hours for the cable to finally get around to turning back on. So... Sorry I can't respond to all your reviews by the way. I lead a notoriously busy life. (And honestly that little reply button on them, I hadn't realized there was one until about two weeks ago. Sad I know.) _

_So I had some concerns about the story shifting gears to possibly focus on a romance between Shinji and Riichi. I assure you that won't happen. This story only happened because it was for Ryouji and Rii, and honestly if I switched gears now it would make next to no sense. Partly because I would fail in trying to write something that deviates that much from my original idea. Love triangles will be among the secondary characters, if they happen at all. It's hard to write a believable one as your focus. (Actually I'm just too lazy to put that much effort into making an enjoyable one.) __As for Kendo-kun...I'll let you guys stew on that a bit longer. He'll be revealed soon. I promise._

_Thanks again everyone and continue to review. _

* * *

**_Dirty Little Secret_**

She had run.

Riichi had never considered herself a coward before. Knowing when it was time to head for the hills yes, but never cowardly. That was the only thing she could call what she had done though. Cowardly beyond a doubt. She hadn't even tried to piece together an excuse or an argument. All she had done was turned tail and fled.

So now she was running through the hallways, fighting back tears, breathing so heavily it looked like she had just run a marathon. Riichi didn't know what she was going to do. In all honesty she wasn't sure she even _wanted_ to do anything but sit in a corner and cry herself to sleep. All she really had down at the moment was that she was in deep shit, and there was little to nothing she could do about it.

She sucked in a breath, the air running through her throat in sharp hisses. Somewhere safe, that's where she needed to get. Somewhere that she wouldn't have to walk on eggshells; that she could sit down and have a good cry. A _long _cry damnit, because she deserved at least that.

_Junpei, _fluttered through her mind and the girl immediately changed coarse. Of course. He was the safest place to be right now. He already knew about her, and though he was the shittiest strategist she had ever encountered, he was still better than having no one to help plan what she should do. It helped that while he hid it quite well, he really would do almost anything for her. At the moment Riichi needed that unyielding loyalty.

She didn't know how long it took her to get to his room, nor did she remember how exactly she had made it there safely, but as soon as she crashed into the wood of the door—using her hands to brace herself against it—she was scrambling for the doorknob. The girl gasped out a sob when she finally grasped the knob but was unable to turn it. She continued to jiggle the handle, becoming more frantic with every second. When she finally got it turned enough she pushed the door open and threw herself straight into someone's chest.

Junpei gave a rather unmanly 'oomph' as Riichi collided into him. Having been unprepared for it (since he had been preoccupied with figuring out who was stupid enough to be unable to get through a door) he staggered heavily and almost tumbled backwards. When he was finally able to find secure footing, he was able to correctly determine the identity of his assailant.

"Riichi? Is that you?" he tried, his hands moving uncertainly to grasp her upper arms. "Are you _crying?_" the disbelief was now even more prevalent in his voice. "Holy shit, what the hell happened? Reech calm down it's alright now." He encircled one arm around her shoulders in order to hug her in what he hoped was a soothing gesture. The boy attempted to pull her further inside, remembered the door was open, and then abandoned his earlier plan in order to attempt to shut his door.

"Hey what's wrong with him?" The two other occupants had made their way closer, circling around the front of him in order to get a better look at the sobbing girl. "Dude, what did you do to the poor guy, he's bawling," despite his words Kenji seemed more intrigued than really worried about the girl.

It was the other boy who looked as if he had just heard his girlfriend was pregnant. "Is he okay?" he asked. Ryouji raised his arms and was about to place them on her, but he hesitated, and finally allowed them to fall back down. Even with his decision though he still looked torn. "What happened?"

Throughout this whole exchange Riichi had done nothing more than bawl into Junpei's chest. She didn't seem to realize that anyone else was in the room, something the boy holding onto her attributed to the fact that she was hysterical. "On the roof, a guy, he was sleeping," she began, babbling around her sobs. "Woke him up, and he was mad, he was really really mad!"

She was going so fast and her sentences were so fragmented that the boy couldn't keep up. "Rii calm down!" Junpei tried. "What did he do?" He gave the girl a good shake in an attempt to help her settle. "Say it slowly okay."

Riichi sniffed, hiccupping softly for a few minutes. When she was calm enough to speak somewhat coherently she tried again. "Some guy, on the roof, he knows," she hiccupped.

Junpei, for the life of him, couldn't figure out what she was talking about. "Knows what?" he tried, the gruffness toned down a bit in order to ease it out of her.

She sniffed again, and this time when she focused her gaze on him she looked lost. "He _knows_," she tried again. "He knows about it."

The realization hit Junpei like a ton of bricks. The boy paled and his grip on her grew almost painful. "You mean _that_ right? Someone knows about _that_?" It was now obvious that he was shaking. "We're talking about the same _that _right? Oh god please tell me we aren't talking about the same _that_."

It was this rambling of his that finally allowed the girl to collect her wits. Of course it also helped in making her transform her earlier hysterics into frustration, and then downright anger. Junpei's reaction, while being what she had wanted, was going a bit far in her opinion. Some small, girly part of her was also quite irritated with the fact that he was now the one who needed to be calmed down. She had been the one who'd just had that scarring experience, he was supposed to be comforting _her_ damnit. And though she knew that it was perfectly fine for him to be freaked out over this too (after all his head was on the chopping block as well now) she couldn't get over the fact that this was no longer about her.

To put it in blunt and simple terms, she was pissed. And like all thoroughly pissed women, she was going to take it out on the one closest to her. The fact that the one closest also happened to be the one who caused her anger was only a plus.

With a quick lift of her leg she slammed her foot down on the top of Junpei's toes. The boy gave a sharp intake of breath, his eyes watering wonderfully. "Of course it's about _that_!" she snarled. "Why else would I be like this!" She began to tear up again, this declaration reminding her of the problem she was now facing. "I don't know what to do now, if this gets out then…" she couldn't finish her sentence, that train on thought having been a particularly gruesome one to travel down.

The girl began to visibly shake. There were so many things that could happen now, none of them pleasant. Her mind raced through the possibilities. While doing this her shoulders hunched forward, head bent down, and hand raised to allow easy biting access to her index finger. She looked like she was trying to curl into herself to hide.

Junpei, who had been prepared to cuss her out, saw this and immediately sobered. He heaved a large sigh, shoulders slumping as he relaxed. "Guys, sorry but will you two leave? This is kind of a private matter." Riichi was so preoccupied in her thoughts that she was once again oblivious to the happenings around her.

Kenji just shrugged and gave a halfhearted nod of his head. "If you say so man." He stepped around them and grasped the door handle. There was a momentary pause in which he seemed to be battling with something, and then he glanced over his shoulder. "He's gonna be okay right?"

Junpei gave a rather halfhearted smile. "Yeah, he'll be alright." The other boy gave a loll of his head that might've been a nod, and then slipped out.

Ryouji was not so keen on simply leaving. His gaze had been on Riichi the entire time, expression twisted into a lost sort of concern. Like he was unsure how exactly he was supposed to express his worry. He finally seemed to find himself and reluctantly moved his gaze off of the girl to focus steeled eyes on Junpei. "I would like to try and help," he announced. His voice was surprisingly resolute for how he had looked earlier. "I know I may not be as close to him as you are, but I want to support him."

The other boy found himself slightly shocked at this. It wasn't Ryouji's willingness to help that had surprised him, rather it was how determined the boy was in wanting to do it. Junpei found that it was his turn to feel torn. On one hand he knew that Ryouji truly did want what was best for Riichi, the guy was nothing if not sincere, plus he was a good friend. On the other hand this was something that went way above a normal teenage issue. In all honesty it wasn't really his place to decide who was able to learn Riichi's secret anyway. Another glance at the girl cemented his answer. "I'm sorry man." His gaze traveled back to lock eyes with Ryouji. "I really don't mean anything by this, I swear to you, but at the moment you're probably the last person Reech needs helping him out with this."

The hurt was clearly evident on his face. Ryouji's gaze lowered to the floor and he plastered on a strained smile. "Oh, well then…" The boy was fighting desperately for words at this point. "I guess I, well I should go now." His short laugh was even more strained than the smile had been. With a half-wave he turned around and disappeared out the door, shutting it behind him with a soft click.

Junpei felt bad, he really did. He understood how much that particular sentence had to have hurt. It had been true though. Having been as close as he was to her for such a long time, Junpei had gotten to know quite a bit about the girl called Riichi. One of the things he had learned about her was that she had a hard time with making lasting friends. He figured it was because of her sporadically changing lifestyle. Even he could see how close the two had become in the past month. Ryouji was the closest friend (right behind himself of course, he hastened to add) she'd had in, well probably a really long time. He wasn't going to jeopardize that for the girl, even if it meant putting his friendship with Ryouji temporarily on the rocks.

With a sigh and a silent promise to apologize to the boy later, he locked the door and then turned his attention back to the girl who was the source of all this. She was still standing there, bent over in that strange curled up position, eyes narrowed in a glare of combined fright and aggravation. "Oi, Reech," he called. The girl made absolutely no indication that she was even aware he was alive. "Hey, I'm talking to you." All he got in response this time was a hushed series of mumblings about something to do with claming insanity.

He decided he was getting nowhere, sucked in a breath and exhaled slowly. Steeling himself, he planted his feet and positioned his arms in preparation. "Hey Rii-tan!" he called, "I can see your panties."

There was a particularly shrill shriek and then the girl rounded glaring, slightly-teary eyes on him. "You can _not_!" she cried. "I'm wearing pants you pervert!" By the way she was clutching at her shirt and the slightly frantic twinge in her voice, it was rather obvious that she wasn't exactly sure if he was lying or not.

Since it was obvious that she wasn't going to physically come at him he let himself relax again. Ignoring her outburst he moved on to more important matters. "You're going to have to tell me the whole story, or honestly there's nothing even the great me will be able to do."

Riichi, still glaring at him, gave a sharp nod before stalking over to his bed and throwing herself down on it. Her hands remained pulling down on her shirt the whole time. She curled her legs up, clutching them to her chest and resting her chin on the top of her knees. "So I went up to the roof to get away from Kenij, and there was this guy just lying there in the middle of the damn place sleeping like he didn't have a care in the world. I was really surprised. I mean, it's off-limits right, so I wasn't exactly expecting company. And then he wakes up and it freaks me out. I'm already surprised and having him get up and start glaring at me knocked me completely off my game." As she was talking Junpei moved over and flopped down next to her. He kept nodding and grunting appropriately, taking in the details of her story with surprising concentration. "The first words out of his mouth are 'Why are you here?'. I'm thinking on the roof, but when I explain that to him he goes all 'no stupid' and then asks me again, with an emphasis on 'here'. And then it hits me what he really means, and well, I run."

Junpei focused skeptical eyes on her. "You mean you just booked it out of there right then?" he asked, cynicism clear in his tone.

She glared back at him. "Of course I did!" was her snapped reply. "He'd just told me that he knew about my real gender. It scared the shit outta me alright!"

The boy groaned and slapped an exhausted hand over his eyes. "Reech, do you realize that you just confirmed his claims." Her expression was that of irritated confusion. "You didn't even try to argue it with him. Running off like that is pretty much saying '_Yes kind sir, I do in fact lack a dick_.'"

Her mouth dropped open. All traces of animosity had by now faded and Riichi was left with a stare of blank surprise. "You-you mean I…" she began, voice quivering.

"Yup," he assured her. "You did."

"ARGGGHH!" she snarled, jumping up and viciously throwing one of his pillows at the far wall. "I can't believe this!"

Junpei, while having expected this reaction, was still slightly pissed that she was abusing his things. "Would you settle down! What if you break something!" She didn't seem to have heard him, or rather she didn't really care. "Sit down damnit!"

Riichi reluctantly did as she was told, once again throwing herself down on his mattress. "Well what do we do now?" she asked, her tone sounding rather childish in her frustration. "And don't give me that look, you know as well as I do that no one's going to think you're just some innocent bystander in all this." Junpei ceased his 'look' at once. She crossed one leg over the other in a very feminine manner. "Maybe it would be best to ask Yukari what to do," she mumbled absentmindedly.

The boy let out a terrified roar. "Absolutely not!" he shouted, pointing an accusing finger at her. Riichi found herself staring at the boy in unveiled shock. "I'll make you dance naked in front of the principal before I let you tell Yuka-tan _anything_ about this!"

"Yeah but-"

"Don't argue with me! I can only imagine what that devil woman would do to me if she caught wind that something like this happened." He shuddered, clutching at his arms in a frantic sort of dread. Despite the bizarreness of the situation she felt kind of sorry for the boy.

Riichi gave a tired sigh then shrugged and let it go. "So what do you suppose we do?" she tried. "It's probably too much to ask that he just decides it's not even worth it to blab."

With the assurance that Yukari would not be involved Junpei regained his vigor. "Maybe he'll ask for sexual favors in order to keep him quiet."

"He's not you!" she snarled without missing a beat. He shrugged, naughty grin still in place. "He might want some sort of compensation though."

The boy clucked his tongue. "You know, it would be easier for me to help out if I knew who exactly it was that found out your dirty little secret."

She winced at that, not exactly pleased with being made to remember the boy. "Well, he was pretty intimidating," she admitted. "He almost looked like a street thug. Except he was kind of attractive, in a bad boy sort of way."

He rolled his eyes. "Like that means anything to me," he scoffed. "Unlike you missy, the attractive value of guys isn't exactly my forte." She just shrugged in reply. "Can you be anymore specific maybe? A name? Did you get that while you were busy revealing your feminine charms?"

She glared venomously at him but answered all the same. "No I didn't. But he wasn't wearing a uniform. Or maybe he was, but I couldn't see it under his coat."

Junpei froze, his expression stiffening into one of intense dread. Riichi, who was trying her best to remember every detail about this boy (a feat that was somewhat hard considering her panic had made getting a really good look at him impossible) didn't notice the change in her companion. "Hey Reech," he called, and she looked up to show she was listening. "That guy, did he happen to be really tall and have shoulder-length brown hair?"

She furrowed her brow in thought. "I can't say how tall exactly he was, but I think he was pretty tall. You're right about his hair though. Do you know who it is?" Her gaze right then was positively hopeful.

Unfortunately Junpei paled even further. "Riichi," he said, placing comforting hands firmly on her shoulders. "You know I love you right? You're the best bro a guy can ever hope to have in a girl." She cocked an eyebrow as if to say 'get on with it'. "So that's why I'm saying this, in order to protect my best friend. We're shipping you to Taiwan right now."

Her jaw dropped again. "What the hell?" was her final snarl. "Are you high? Why do I have to be shipped overseas?"

"You were found out by Shinjirou Aragaki!" he shot back, shaking her firmly. "I don't think you understand the plight you are now in. You're up shit creek without a paddle girly."

Her expression furrowed into an even darker rejection. "You're not even making sense anymore. What are you talking about?"

The boy brought her face close to his, their noses almost touching. His eyes gazed darkly into her now-surprised ones. "I'm saying that he's probably the last person on this planet you would want to learn about this thing. He will chew you up and spit you out like yesterday's gum." He shivered, releasing his hold on her and backing away. "We have to get you out now, there's nothing more I can do for you."

By now his fear was becoming contagious. Riichi couldn't help but feel slightly unsettled as well. But damnit she had worked hard to get where she was and if she decided to just give up without a fight than she would undoubtedly be forced to run on back to the orphanage, and thus back into the cycle of continuously changing foster homes. Over her dead body was she going to let that happen again, not after the mental torture she'd had to endure these past weeks. So she put on a brave face and squared her shoulders. "Well, I'll sleep on it and think of what to do next. The fact that no one's come looking for me yet has to mean he hasn't told anyone right? So I still have some time." The girl gave a short nod, as if trying to assure herself that she was determined to do this.

Junpei stared at her as if she had grown another head. Finally he sighed and lowered his head in a sign that he was giving up. "Whatever you say man," he sighed. "If anything happens come find me again alright? But um, I'm just going to say it now, if Aragaki-senpai starts coming after you, there is absolutely nothing I can do to bail you out. We're buds, but I like my life and honestly I kind of want to keep it."

It was now her turn to roll her eyes. "Yeah, whatever," she snorted. "I'll see you later then." The girl gave a lazy wave over her shoulder as she headed towards his door.

"Hey Rii," Junpei called, making the girl stop and look over her shoulder in expectance. "You should probably talk to lover boy." Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "You know, your roommate. He was pretty worried about you, and well, I had to say some nasty stuff in order to get him to leave. Just make sure that he's feeling better alright." She nodded and proceeded to try and leave again. "He really treasures you, keep that in mind."

For some reason she felt herself blushing at that. "Gutter-minded," she shot back, and then shot out of the room before he could say anything else on the matter.

oOo

Ryouji fidgeted awkwardly. He kept peeking over at his roommate, eyes filled with hesitant concern. Riichi would have noticed had she not been so engrossed in what she was doing. Bent over her desk and violently solving math problems, continuing muttering expletives like her life depended on it.

After she had returned to her room she had found the boy seated on the edge of his bed, hands wringing in what might have been anxiety. Having been pretty sure what that anxiety was geared towards, and remembering Junpei's parting words, she had immediately felt awkward. Awkward and a little guilty at whatever it was Junpei had said in order to successfully kick the boy out. Because of this she had only been able to mumble out an clumsy apology and inform him that she had better get started on her homework or there would be no way she could finish it in time. It had been yet another cowardly ploy, one she was trying not to think about because that would mean facing she had made two spineless acts in a matter of hours.

But as it stood, her efforts to ignore the issue with her roommate had paved the way for prime time to think about the issue of Shinjirou Aragaki, as the boy had come to be identified as.

In the time she had spent attempting to finish her homework, her earlier anxiety had managed to long since transform itself into anger. It had started gradually, a general frustration at herself for handling the situation like a dumbass. That had grown and evolved into an almost boiling rage at the senior who had been the cause of everything. "Bastard," she muttered as she viciously erased a mistake on her paper. "Breathe one word of this and I swear…" she trailed off into an increasingly unintelligible mishmash of curses and threats.

The boy on the other end of the room flinched. He hurried to return his attention back to his homework, but this proved highly unsuccessful. With a shaky sigh he set his determination and turned in his seat to address her. "Rii-kun," he called, voice hesitant.

Her head shot up and over, attention snapping on him. "What?" she snapped. It had come out much more violently than she had intended and upon seeing his hurt expression she immediately softened. "What is it?"

He took a moment to clear his throat and regain his courage. She patiently waited for him, using the moment to shift herself in order to properly face him. "It's alright if you don't want to talk about it," he began with. This both eased her and made her put her guard up. "But I wanted to let you know that um, you can if you want to—talk to me that is." He fidgeted uncomfortably. It was pretty obvious that he wasn't used to all this. "It's just, I've never seen you this angry, and well earlier…" She was glad he had trailed off because if he had voiced that particular thing she wouldn't have been able to keep herself from blushing like a little girl.

Instead she attempted a bright smile. It failed and came out lopsided and weary. "Something very important got found out by someone who really shouldn't know it. I'm frustrated that's all." He nodded and she was immensely grateful that he appeared to be letting the subject drop. Before he did that though she had something she needed to say to him. "I want to tell you, I really do." Ryouji's eyes widened in surprise. "But this is something that I absolutely cannot let anyone know about. I'm, I'm sorry."

She really meant it. Lying to and deceiving this boy was not only making her feel like a jerk, but it was getting harder to do. The better friends they became the closer she got to accidentally letting her feminine traits slip out. But letting Ryouji know was a chance she couldn't take. Not only did it let in the unwarranted danger of having one more person to potentially reveal her, but it would successfully make things irreversibly awkward between them. Being good friends with the opposite gender was one thing; living in the same room as them was an entirely different matter completely.

But all he did was smile and give a soft nod of his head. "I understand." His voice allowed for no doubt of his sincerity. "It's alright. Just think of me as motivational support then. I can at least be good for that."

Riichi let out a snort of a laugh. He looked slightly taken aback. "Well aren't you just Mr. Charming," she snickered.

"Would you rather me give you a bloody nose and harass you about acting like a baby?"

She laughed all over again. But for all the teasing, she couldn't miss the warm smile he had. Somewhere in the back of her mind she remembered Junpei's words, and she found herself wondering if maybe it wouldn't be all that bad to be treasured by this boy.

oOo

In the end she hadn't thought of a single legitimate strategy. So she had decided on the only thing that came to mind, the act of stalking. Or well, since she really didn't want to think of herself as some creepy stalker, she preferred to refer to it as reconnaissance. If she could find out this guy's weakness then she could use it against him in order to make him keep his mouth shut. It was simple, but it was a classic and damnit it all if classics didn't work.

So that was how she found herself skulking around the senior hallway, attempting to catch any glimpse she could of the upperclassman named Shinjirou Aragaki. Unfortunately, she was failing in all regards in her information gathering.

Riichi had never felt like a bigger creep. It would have been one thing if she had been able to find the guy and covertly follow him, but as it stood Aragaki was apparently as elusive as they came. It hadn't taken her long to figure out that the boy rarely showed up to class, but that was still a good four days of wasted time and legwork. Not to mention that the seniors were beginning to notice that she was hanging around on the third floor quite a lot for simply 'doing her student council duties'. When she had stooped to slyly mentioning his name around friends and fans, the response she got wasn't much better.

Apparently he had many rumors swirling around about him. One of them stated that he was the son of a yakuza boss and had been trained from an early age in order to be able to take up the mantel when daddy retired. So he now knew how to kill a man over a hundred and forty-two ways, one of which included the use of a wooden spoon. Another version of the story stated that it was actually he who founded the group at the tender age of nine, and as such had no plans on a successor because he had no desire to retire anytime in the near future. Riichi could only marvel at how clichéd such rumors could get.

Among the falsities and fabrications she had managed to garner a bit of information that was actually _useful_. For one, senior boy was apparently part of one of the 'special programs' that the school offered. What had amazed the girl was that this program happened to be the culinary one, and after a bit of digging she had come across the fact that he was at the top of his class in it. She hadn't exactly pegged him as a cook, let alone a good one. On top of this she had learned that he was an orphan (which for some reason made her feel like she wanted to talk to him a little more, maybe because they were in the same boat) but that he never talked about the orphanage he had grown up in and supposedly he hadn't been back there since he left. Whenever that had been. After some more digging into the matter, she had come across the knowledge that he had gotten into the school on a culinary scholarship.

Stranger things have happened.

She rather prided herself on her information gathering abilities. Riichi hadn't thought she'd make this good a sleuth. Her success was enough to inflate her ego probably a little too much.

It didn't matter how much she knew about him though, especially if none of it was scandalous enough (and actually true) to be able to bargain for her safety. If she couldn't find the guy, then nothing she learned would mean anything.

With this knowledge in hand she decided to take her stalking/investigation to the next level. Lurking around the dormitories gave her a little more legroom then the senior floor of the school building did. The grades were scattered about more in the dorms, not to mention there were far more places to hide if the need arose. If worst came to worst she could always claim to have gotten lost; there hadn't been enough time passed since she arrived here that that kind of claim would be completely unbelievable. With so many people here infatuated with her thanks to her position as idol not many were willing to dispute her claims anyway.

This was how after the second week of wasted legwork she was able to discern where his room was. It was a monumental discovery, especially after she came to the realization that unlike his classes, he really did spend time in his allotted room. After a celebratory dance (a rather feminine one at that) and a dark laugh, she went to work on finally observing the actual boy.

Her zeal for this was beginning to freak her out.

The third week didn't produce much information either. After following him relentlessly for six and a half days she had figured out that he was taking care of a cat behind the dorms, he used the student kitchen on an almost daily basis (at one in the morning no doubt! Her skin was now suffering from her lack of sleep), and he had an almost pitiable lack of contact with other people. Riichi had never seen someone who was so resolute at keeping to himself. By the way he would occasionally sigh in frustration and the unnecessary amount of concentration he devoted to some of his activities, she was beginning to think that he knew she was shadowing him.

With all of this it was only a matter of time before her roommate said something to her. Strange behavior aside, she was beginning to keep sporadic schedules and she hadn't spent any time with her friends in the past three weeks. Even she understood how her weird activities were enough to freak out even the most tolerant of people. She was just surprised that it had taken about a good month for Ryouji to finally say something about it.

"Are you alright?"

The moment the question was popped she looked up from her cup ramen in surprised confusion. Lunch was about the only time she spent leisurely anymore, thus it was the only time she really got a chance to interact with her friends. As such, when Ryouji had pulled her away from their usual group and made her eat alone with him on one of the more secluded benches in the courtyard, she should have seen something like this coming. But as it stood—which she attributed to her growing lack of sleep—it had come as a complete shock to her.

The girl lowered her chopsticks and gave a rather flimsy smile. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

Ryouji's expression twisted in anguish for a moment before he straightened it back out. "Well, you've been acting rather strange the past few weeks. I was just wondering if everything was okay."

She laughed and waved at him as if his worry was completely unfounded. "Nah, it's all okay. I've just had a lot of things going on." Well if that wasn't the weakest lie she could come up with she didn't know what was.

He obviously didn't buy it either. "Am I that hard to trust?"

It was mumbled, low enough that it was obvious she wasn't meant to have heard it. But Riichi had, and it stabbed at her. She found that she was unable to look at the boy, her guilt now tugging mercilessly at her. She opened her mouth, prepared to say something, but found that she couldn't quite find anything _to_ say.

"Is it still that problem from before?" Her twitch of surprise was more then enough of an answer. Ryouji's brow furrowed and he focused his gaze on the ground. "Aragaki-senpai is the one who found out about it right? Your secret that is." Riichi felt herself give a soft nod. She could let him know at least that. She didn't need to keep everything about this from him and honestly she found that she wasn't able to. Her continued refusal to indulge information to him was beginning to seriously hurt the boy and that was the last thing she wanted to do.

He nodded once and when she peeked up at him she was surprised to see how determined he looked. "Alright, I'll let it drop. You've got broth all over your chin by the way."

Riichi yelped and hurried to wipe it away. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she snarled. He laughed and gave a friendly shrug. She was relieved to note that he seemed to have returned to normal, all traces of the earlier determination gone as if they'd never been there.

oOo

After three weeks of constant legwork and information gathering, she never expected something like this to happen. She probably should have, considering how she had gotten sloppy the past few days, and she hadn't exactly mentioned to anyone to keep her interest in a certain senior on the 'down-low'. After having observed him in the common room for the past two hours (of which now it was nearing eleven) the boy had given one last exasperated sigh and stood up. She hadn't really been worried until he had stalked towards her and grabbed her roughly by the collar of her blazer. While this had been slightly concerning, the warning bells hadn't started going off until after it was obvious that he was dragging her into his room. That had been the moment the girl had started struggling. Even after thrashing around like a wounded cat he had still managed to get his door open and throw her inside without much trouble.

Riichi scuttled away from him and glared for all she was worth. "If you try anything I'll scream," she announced. "Then you'll be a gay rapist. How's that look for you?" Her voice was surprisingly firm for how badly she was shaking.

He rolled his eyes and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his pants. "Listen kid, I'm telling you that I'm not some brat so you can stop following me around alright." She arched a confused eyebrow and allowed her defenses to lower slightly. But she was still no closer to understanding what was going on and the girl made this clear by refusing to budge an inch. Shinjirou's irritation rose even higher. "I'm not going to tell on you. There, are we happy now?"

Her eyes narrowed in skepticism, but she did allow her body to relax. "How do I know you're telling the truth?" she asked.

He gave a low groan and placed his head in one of his hands. "Do you become stupid when you're desperate or are you normally this dim?" She took offence to that. "Look, it's been over three weeks right? If I was going to tell someone don't you think I would have done it by now?"

To Riichi the world stopped. She went absolutely rigid, the information hitting needlessly hard. Perhaps the thing that had hit her the hardest though was that he was undeniably right. The girl felt like the biggest idiot the world had ever known. She staggered slightly, having lost her energy in the shock, and had to steady herself on his end table. After she had settled her mental anguish, she looked up at him from still-narrowed eyes. "You promise right?" she asked. In an attempt to keep at least some of her pride intact she continued with, "You'll regret it if you don't, I swear to you."

Shinjirou gave another roll of his eyes. "Your secret's safe with me and all that bullshit. Now can we please stop shadowing me. It's fucking exhausting."

The girl eyed him warily for another minute before she completely let down her guard. "Alright fine, I'll believe you for now." She pursed her lips and then found that she couldn't look him in the eye. "Um, just for future reference and everything, how exactly did you find out?" His look told her that he had no clue what she was talking about. "About me being a girl and all that," she trailed off with.

He shrugged. "I've seen you outside before," was his explanation. Apparently tired of standing and probably even more tired of the conversation, he made his way over to his desk and seated himself at it. "You live in the next town right?" She nodded her wary confirmation. "I go there sometimes for cooking utensils, the stores here sell cheap shit. I saw you and that Iori kid walking around one day. When I saw you two here it clicked." He shrugged again, "I wasn't positive though. You could have been a twin for all I knew and honestly I really didn't care. I wouldn't have even said anything but you caught me when I was half-asleep."

Riichi felt her expression drop. "You mean that day up on the roof you were just guessing?" He gave a lazy nod. "So I pretty much confirmed it?"

"Yeah, you might want to work on that tendency to flee a bit. And what are you doing on my bed?" He moved to push her off it, but the girl evaded by rolling over and in a stubborn form of revenge splayed herself out further.

"That's so damn aggravating," she sniffed. She was now too worn out to attempt to even get seriously mad anymore. "I guess it's good to know that it wasn't because I'm obviously girly though."

Shinjirou snorted and stood up to get a better angle for extracting her from his bed. "Did I mention that time in the science lab? You know you should probably make sure other people aren't using it to take naps before you go reading out girly letters."

In her surprise she let down her guard and the boy was successful in flipping her off the other side. Riichi landed hard on the floor but paid it no mind and instead sat up in order to see him. "You mean you were there?" she half-wailed. "How much did you hear?"

Having been satisfied with a job well done, he seated himself back down in his chair. "Only something about orphanages and how you're supposed to stay safe for someone. By the way if you keep squealing like you did then eventually someone's going to hear you."

She could feel the heat rise to her face. "That, that's private! Forget all about it!"

He scoffed, as if the thought of continuing to remember something so idiotic was the farthest thing from his mind. "And while we're at it can you tell your damn guard dog to chill the fuck out."

Her blush receded and she climbed back up on top of the bed. "Guard dog? Are you talking about Junpei, because I promise he won't even come near you."

Shinjirou's gaze told her how stupid he thought she was. "I mean that Mochizuki kid. The one who never stops smiling like an idiot."

Interest suddenly piqued, Riichi leaned over further. "Wait, what did Ryouji do?"

"You don't know?" She shook her head and he cocked an eyebrow in interest. "Earlier today he cornered me and warned me about messing around with you and some shit. That was probably the only time I've ever seen that kid actually serious."

The girl leaned back, taking time to soak in this new information. "Ryouji did that?" His nod chased away any attempts at doubt. Their conversation from lunch earlier that day returned and suddenly it all made sense. So that had been what all that was about. Riichi would have blushed again had she not remembered whose presence she was in. "I'll tell him there's no need to worry about you anymore," she promised.

"There wasn't any need in the first place," the boy snorted. She ignored him.

"Well, I'll be going now," she announced as she slipped off the mattress. "I think I've worried my roommate a little too much." She stretched her arms above her head as she made her way to the door. "It's been fun," she called over her shoulder, laughing at his exhausted groan.

"Don't come back," he called back at her.

oOo

When she had gotten back to her room it was the sight of Ryouji that reminded her that she had no idea what she was going to say to him. She had run a few scenarios in her head sure, but none of them had gone very realistically. When faced with the real deal she was drastically unprepared. It was almost comical really.

He looked up as she entered and smiled. She could see the small twinge of a strain in it though, as if he was trying to make her think that nothing was wrong. Her fault, she told herself, that he felt he needed to pretend that everything was normal. "You're back early today," he inquired.

Riichi laughed and gave a small nod. "Yeah I finished my business earlier then I expected." She felt the stabbing sensation again. To think her behavior had gotten to the point where eleven thirty at night was considered early. They lapsed into an awkward silence. Neither of them were really sure how to interact with the other. Riichi blamed that on herself and her circumstances as well. Being a cross-dressing girl was becoming too damn complicated.

After about fifteen minutes of the silence the girl gave a loud sigh. This was stupid. The thought that she had made it so that her best friend was having trouble talking to her was nauseating. The fact that she wasn't able to talk to him either was only proof of how strained she had made their relationship.

The girl shot up from her position on her bed. Ryouji flinched in surprise, not having expected the sudden movement out of her. "Is everything alright?" he tried as she stalked over to him. Riichi rounded his bed and then proceeded to seat herself on the mattress next to his chair. The boy had gone from looking awkward to looking completely bewildered. "Um, what's-"

"I took care of it," she cut him off. The firmness of her tone surprised him all over again. "I finished everything, so there's no problem anymore." Her grin was toothy and almost childish. "Everything's a-okay." Her thumbs up only added to the utter silliness of the scene.

Ryouji continued to stare at her in dumb amazement. Riichi held her position, feeling too awkward and desperate to even attempt anything else. Finally the boy lowered his head and the unmistakable sound of chuckling erupted from him. It was her turn to allow her expression to fall into shock. Ryouji allowed his head to fall back as his laughter grew louder and he clutched wildly at his sides. At this point Riichi wasn't sure whether to be offended or relieved.

"I'm sorry," he said when he had finally calmed down. The boy reached over and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Thank you." He gave a firm squeeze.

Riichi felt the exhaustion rush from her body to make room for the relief that followed. She felt an almost overwhelming desire to grasp his hand, but she fought against it because doing so would be an incredibly girly thing to do and she didn't want to risk anything anymore. Instead she placed her grin back on. "You greatly underestimate me. I know exactly what I'm doing."

He nodded, retracting his hand and cocking his head teasingly. "Of course, of course. My worry was all misplaced." She took an extra moment to fully evaluate his expression. This time for sure he had lost all of that anxiety and insecurity that had been whirling around him for the past few weeks.

Riichi felt her smile soften. She bit her lip and took a moment to think about how she was going to phrase what she wanted to say next. Feeling slightly shy and afraid to show him what expression she might be showing, the girl flopped back on his mattress. "So thanks for looking out for me," she mumbled.

He froze. There was a weak laugh and when Riichi peeked up at him she found that the boy had moved his gaze to his desk. "So you found out about that huh?" he asked, his tone showing that he already knew the answer.

She shrugged. "Aragaki-senpai was pretty surprised. I bet you were scary." This chuckle was dryer than the last one. Riichi cursed herself for making everything awkward again. Damn her and her sensitive female side. "So uh," she continued, deciding that if she had already started on it she might as well finish digging her grave. "How come you went so far? I didn't think you were the confronting type."

Ryouji fidgeted and his gaze turned even further from her. He muttered something unintelligible and Riichi felt her interest spike. "What was that?" she asked, rolling over and propping her chin up in one hand. "Sorry I missed it."

The boy gave an almost imperceptible moan. "You remind me of someone," was what came out when his mumble finally become loud enough to hear.

"Is that so?" she pried. She recognized a chance for teasing and she'd be damned if she was going to let it go. "Who would that be?" His refusal to answer her was only making her want to know that much more. "Come on, don't tell me it's your mom or something." He curled his nose and continued to stay silent. "Childhood friend? Cousin? Kid who saved you from a bully?" Despite the fact that he said nothing she could tell all of them were wrong. Riichi felt a devilish grin spread across her face. "It wasn't your first love was it?"

She had never seen Ryouji blush before. Honestly she had thought it was impossible to elicit that reaction out of the boy. But looking at the miraculous red that colored Ryouji's face, Riichi found herself blushing in turn. "I was right?" The soft, unsure tone of her voice had nothing in common with the earlier teasing.

Ryouji, for his part, buried his face in his hands. "This is why I didn't want to say anything!" he groaned.

The girl fell back against the mattress and rolled over to hide her face from him. First love. _First love_? His words echoed throughout her head, every repetition making her embarrassment grow. Oh god why had she decided it was a good idea to pursue that particular topic? There was a small part of her though, buried way deep inside, that fluttered at the thought of it.

"Don't get me wrong!" His voice brought her back to reality. "I don't mean anything by it, I swear!" The boy jumped up from his chair and moved to grab her shoulders.

Riichi threw herself off the side of the bed, landing clumsily on her knees. "I don't believe you!" she cried back, scrambling to her feet and staring at him in some weird kind of face-off.

His face looked like it couldn't decide between paling and flushing like a fire truck. "Come back and listen to me!" He lunged for her, missing by a mile since she had ducked back and retreated on top of her own bed.

"You have horrible taste in women!" He lunged again and Riichi had to dive off the mattress and towards the bathroom in order to escape him.

He cried out in protest, panic, and what might have been offense. "I was young—that doesn't matter, just listen to me!"

They danced around the room, a strange sort of tag in which one participant was unsure what to do if they caught the other, and the other member wondered if maybe they wanted to be caught. At some point Ryouji had finally managed to snag her arm and Riichi was pulled downwards to land on his mattress with a dull thud. Before she could successfully struggle he managed to pin down her other arm as well. As it stood the girl was on her knees, hands pinned down over her head while Ryouji towered over her from behind. The two were both panting, exhaustion forcing them to put everything else on hold.

The sound of the door opening brought their attention to it, and for the moment they were both too dazed to really react to it. "Hey Ryouji did I leave my manga in-OH MY GOD!" Junpei stood in the doorway, staring at them with unveiled horror. It took a moment for the two to wonder why he was so worked up. For the second time in the last hour they flushed darkly. Ryouji dropped her arms and shot backwards while Riichi pulled herself up and dove forward. "What the hell were you two doing?" Junpei continued to shout.

"Wrestling practice," Riichi finally managed out. Having just recovered from his earlier shock, this blow had rendered Ryouji completely incapable of speech. The boy in the doorway made no indication that his horror had abated at all.

oOo

She had gone back.

"What the hell are you doing here?" the boy grunted. His attention however wasn't really focused on her.

Riichi shrugged from her position on his bed and went back to her phone. "I can't go back to my room right now," she admitted, absentmindedly typing in her message.

He snorted, "You mean you got kicked out."

She shot a glare at him. "No! I just…" the girl trailed off, feeling awkward and embarrassed. "It's uncomfortable in there right now."

Shinjirou sighed and leaned back in his chair. Riichi glanced at him from the corner of her eye. She relaxed her guard when it was obvious that he wasn't going to physically try and kick her out.

It had surprised both of them when she had showed up again the next day. After wheedling her way into his room she had made herself comfortable on top of his bed and, against all his protests, had settled there for a good four hours. Riichi attributed it to habit. Having spent the past three weeks around him it was inevitable that she would eventually get accustomed to him. The fact that he knew about her was an added bonus.

"So why exactly did you choose here of all places to hide out?"

She shrugged again. "Junpei's part of the problem. You were the next best thing." She directed her gaze back at him to see that he was now staring at her. Or to put it more accurately, he was glaring at her as if she had grown another head. "Attribute it to Stockholm syndrome."

His gaze narrowed in what might have been disbelief. "I didn't kidnap you, you moron. And would you get off my bed already." Shinjirou moved to push her off to which Riichi responded by grappling awkwardly with him. Despite his obvious strength he wasn't making much effort in order to move her. The girl inwardly grinned at how bad the boy was at hiding his kindness sometimes.

When it was obvious she was making no effort to move he gave up and flopped back in his chair in defeat. After another bout of silence Shinjirou became the first to break it again. "How long do you plan on staying in here anyway?"

Riichi pulled her attention away from her phone and thought about it. "Not sure," she finally settled on, looking quite sheepish. "I guess until we can look at each other again." The whole event yesterday night had succeeded in making things awkward between them again. This was a completely different version of awkwardness from before though and this was one that she really had no idea to handle. It was all Junpei's fault she hastened to remind herself. If he hadn't walked in on them and made some wild assumptions then they would have been just fine. But then there was that thing about Ryouji's first love and how she somehow reminded him of her and that strange warm feeling that was in the pit of her stomach that she really didn't want to think about right now.

The boy groaned in exhaustion and Riichi was brought to the present. "Can you just make up with your boyfriend and get outta my hair?"

Her face flushed brilliantly. "Shut up! We're not like that!" Ignoring the consequences it might bring (especially if doing this caused her to forget to respond to Yukari's text) she chucked her cell phone at him as hard as she could. "You all keep forgetting that I'm a damn boy here!"

Shinjirou clumsily swatted the phone away and his glare sharpened further. "I don't want to hear any of this from the girl who can't even go to her room because she's acting like some schoolgirl in love."

"God you're irritating. Why am I here again?"

"That's what I want to know."

They continued glaring at each other. For some reason Riichi felt that this was all very familiar. Ah that was right, about now would be the time that someone would-

"Oi Shinji, I need some advice. He's stopped talking to me all of a sudden and-"

The two looked up from their glaring match and locked gazes with a very familiar boy. Riichi found herself freezing, either out of shock or fear, she wasn't exactly sure. Shinjiro simply snorted and leaned back in his chair. "Aki what are you babbling about now?"

Akihiko Sanada pointed a confused finger at her. "Kitamura? I didn't know you two knew each other."

Riichi nodded mechanically. "S-same here," she stammered.

Shinjirou rested a lazy gaze on her. "So in those few weeks of stalking you couldn't figure out who was my best friend? Some stalker you are."

"It wasn't stalking!" she snarled back. Her attention returned to the silver haired boxer who had by now moved to the center of the room.

He seemed to have forgotten his earlier business and instead was now scrutinizing her. "I figured I was the only one who Shinji let into his room. I'm kind of surprised." He shrugged, like that was the limit of his concern on the matter, and then proceeded to get close enough to slap her on the back. "So have you thought about my proposal? The boxing team would be happy to have you."

She would have paled but Shinjirou's laughter distracted her. Had Akihiko not been there she would have attempted to kick him. "I'm sorry Senpai, but I have to decline. I don't think I'm cut out to be a boxer."

Akihiko was about to debate with her when Shinjirou interrupted him. "Trust me, there's no way he'd be able to handle it." Riichi felt her heart go out to the boy. "He's too girly, he wouldn't be able to last a day." And then she forgot she ever thought of being grateful to him.


	7. Pretty Handsome Awkward

_Bet you guys didn't think I could get a chapter out this quickly right? (I sure didn't.) Though I guess two weeks isn't exactly quick is it. But anyways, thank you for the reviews, I appreciate them. To **witchjuliana12** who inquired about the length, I'm not able to give an exact number yet. I have about twenty chapters planned out so far, so I'm guessing in the mid to late twenties chapter wise. This is subject to change though, because I improvise and change things around as I go. _

_Thanks again, and please continue to give your support. _

* * *

_**Pretty Handsome Awkward**_

Riichi was rather surprised when Akihiko allowed the talk of boxing to drop as easily as he did. She supposed he made up for it with his constant offers to work out with her. It wouldn't have been so bad if Shinjirou's eyes hadn't been laughing at her the whole time.

"But really," the silver haired boy said, leaning back. "You're going to have to join some sort of team or else you're going to get stuck in gym."

Riichi groaned and flopped back against the head of the bed. "I'm in the student council, doesn't that count?"

Akihiko laughed. "Sorry, nope." He ruffled her hair amiably. Riichi wasn't sure how she should respond to that. "It's gotta be a sport. Or you could get into one of the special programs. Shinji could get you into the cooking class."

The boy in question snorted. "I'm not getting you into anything," he proclaimed gruffly. "Especially if it's just to get you out of gym."

The girl glared at him halfheartedly. "You're such a helpful person," she sighed. Akihiko chuckled and Shinjirou merely shrugged in response. "What would I do anyway?" She shot a pointed look towards the chef, though there was a flicker of pleading in it. The boy grunted and leaned back in his chair but otherwise made no indication that he really gave a damn. A sudden idea occurred to her—dangerous and stupid and altogether desperate—and Riichi found herself voicing it without a second thought. "I guess I could just stay in gym. It can't be _that _bad."

The two regarded her in stupefied horror.

"W-what?" she stuttered, their reactions putting her on the defensive.

Akihiko was the first to recover—or was simply the first to try and correct the error of her ways. He reached out a hand to pat her shoulder comfortingly. "Um, Kitamura. I'm sorry to uh, crush dreams and everything, but if you get into gym class it's not going to be pretty." She leveled him with a gaze that was part curious and part fearful. "Let's just say the guys who end up in gym are the ones who don't really have anything else." Her eyebrow ticked, as if saying '_well yeah_'. Akihiko let out half a groan and tried to find the words he was looking for. "They either don't care, or are, for lack of a better example, the runts of the litter."

This was a little easier to understand, but Riichi still wasn't exactly sure how it was as bad as they were making it out to be. She would just end up being one of the ones that didn't care, simple as that. The boy must have taken her half shrug as such because he squeezed her shoulder and wouldn't continue until she was paying perfect attention to him. "Listen Kitamura, if you get stuck in gym you're considered to have absolutely no skills. I know this is kind of strange for you since you're the scholarship student, but this is a school for rich kids. It's all about making connections and showing off your stuff. So when you're considered to be useless, it pretty much kills everyone's respect for you. Not to mention if you're the heir to your business or whatever, prospects are looking pretty grim for future partnerships." He retracted his hand and allowed it to settle on his knee. "Being the idol might save you, but if you want my honest opinion it can also make things a heck of a lot harder."

Just when it was looking as if the whole idol thing was going to pass over like a dismal—but thankfully brief—storm, it comes back as the bearer of bad news. Riichi wasn't sure whether she was supposed to be surprised at how much this title was screwing her life up, or exasperated by the fact that she was getting used to it. Whatever the case though she was now feeling even more exhausted then she had after last night's fiasco with Junpei.

Shinjirou had apparently noticed this and he piped up with a surprising, "Aki, get him into kendo will you." It was an order more than a request, but the two other occupants of the room were surprised it had been made at all.

This time it was Riichi who broke the startled silence. "Kendo?" she asked. In her surprise the question had come out much more squeaky than intended.

The boy shrugged and absentmindedly picked up a magazine from the top of his desk. "It seemed appropriate. You've got upper body strength right? And at least the guys in that group won't run you ragged." If she didn't know him better (and after three weeks of stalking she thought she'd gotten a good lock on him) she would have thought he was bored with the whole thing and had offered that idea as an offhand way to shut them up. Against her better judgment the girl felt the corners of her mouth twitch up.

Akihiko coughed lightly to return attention to himself. "That's great and all, but why am I the one getting him in?"

Shinjirou's eyebrow ticked upwards and he glanced up from his magazine. "You have connections don't you." Another question that wasn't really a question.

"I wouldn't exactly say that." Riichi was surprised to note that the boy looked torn between blushing madly and getting angry. "Besides," and now he looked exhausted and, was that _depression_? "He's not talking to me right now."

The dark brunette gave what might have been a sigh and returned his attention to the magazine in his hands. "Is it that time of the month? Or did you do something stupid again?"

Akihiko's glare grew icy. "Would you stop talking about him like that!"

"I'm guessing you did something then." He didn't look moved at all by Akihiko's obvious animosity. "Apologize and promise to take him out during break. He knows you're a crybaby, he won't let you stew for long." The boxer flushed again and was about to retaliate when the loud cry of music cut him off.

It was Riichi's turn to flush sheepishly. She slid off the bed and bent down to retrieve her cell phone from where it had landed after being thrown at Shinjirou. Her expression tightened when she looked at the caller id. "I have to take this," she explained, giving an apologetic wave to the other boys.

She headed towards the door and was about to leave when Shinjirou stopped her. "Don't worry about it until after break." The girl looked quizzically over her shoulder. His attention was still focused on the magazine, the flick of his eyes the only indication that he was talking to her. "They won't force you into gym until you come back after this next break. So don't worry about it until then. Aki will have it squared away for you by then anyway."

The girl grinned in thanks, and after chuckling at Akihiko's startled cry, gave them another wave. As she shut the door behind her she flipped open her phone and pressed it gingerly to her ear. "Yukari?" she began, waiting only to hear the girl's breathing to indicate she was there to continue. "Sorry, I was in the middle of something important. I didn't mean to forget to reply to your text."

The girl on the other end of the phone paused for a moment to think over the explanation. When she gave a short sigh Riichi knew she was in the clear. "It's fine," Yukari assured her, and the girl was happy to note that she actually sounded like she meant it. "Sometimes it's better to actually hear your voice anyway." Her tone changed at once, becoming thick with excitement. "So you don't have any plans for break yet do you?"

Riichi shook her head in the negative. When she realized that there was no way for Yukari to see that, she followed it up with a hasty, "No." The girl avoided a group of boys as she continued meandering down the hall, ignoring the loud whispering they had began when she passed. This was why she hated walking around the dorms on a Sunday. People couldn't just mind their own damn business. Remembering herself Riichi cleared her throat and added, "I have to go back to the orphanage though."

Yukari let out a frightened gasp. "What? Why? They're not sending you back are they? But I thought going to school was supposed to keep you here." She had gotten louder in her desperation and Riichi found herself having to hold the phone away from her ear to keep her hearing intact.

"No it's not that," she assured the girl. "I just need to go and visit. It's been a while since I've gone back and it's nice to check in sometimes. Just because I don't want to go back and live there doesn't mean I don't like the kids. Atsuko likes it when I come to check in too." Her smile softened at the mention of the woman. Atsuko was the one in charge of the orphanage, and she had been the one to pick Riichi up from the hospital when she was six and had been left all alone. The woman hadn't ever explained to her what had happened to put the girl in the condition she was, but Riichi was thankful all the same.

The other girl gave a sigh that might have been out of relief. "Well, that's good then. Say hi for me alright?" Riichi 'mmed' in response, nodding despite the fact that Yukari couldn't see it. With that topic out of the way Yukari returned to what she had been originally discussing. "Anyway, we need to get together during break alright. There's someone I want you to meet."

Riichi turned down her hallway and made a beeline towards her room. "Really, who is it?" she asked, genuinely interested. She heard the beginning's of Yukari's answer but she cut her off with a quick, "Sorry, could you give me a minute. I need to check something." Riichi pulled the phone away from her ear and placed the side of her head flush against her door. It was awkward enough between them right now, she especially didn't want to be in the same room as Ryouji and/or Junpei if she was on the phone with Yukari. The thought of how uncomfortable _that _particular scenario could get was threatening to make her nauseous. When she had determined that her room was currently vacant, she placed her phone back to her ear and unlocked her door to get inside. "Mmkay, I'm back. Sorry about that," she apologized as she closed the door behind her.

Yukari made a noise of approval before she began again. "Her name's Fuuka Yamagishi. I wasn't in her class last year so I never got a chance to talk to her before. But she's really sweet, I think you two will get along well. She wants to meet you too, so I figured break's as good a chance as any."

Riichi felt a grin tug at her mouth once again. "I'd like that," she assured the other girl. She didn't think that Yukari was doing it for this reason, but she was glad to finally be able to make friends her own gender. Guys were great and all, and honestly she figured she was more at ease with them then she could ever be with most girls, but it was nice to have girl friends. There were some things only fellow girls could understand after all. "So what day would be okay?"

"How about the first Monday of break," Yukari suggested. "That'll give you time to get back home and settle in. You are going to be home for most of break right? Not on another one of your traveling stints?" Riichi 'hmmd' in confirmation. Yukari, however, let them sit in a suspicious silence for a minute. She supposed she couldn't blame the girl for not immediately believing her. She had been notorious last year for using her breaks to go back and visit some of her older 'families'. (In her defense they had been the ones to pay for it. She would have felt rude to deny the invitations, especially because most of them really didn't have the money to be spending on that kind of stuff.) "Great, I'm staying here since I live a ways away, and Fuuka says she'd rather not go home, so she's still here too." The girl sighed in feigned exasperation. "Parents are such a chore sometimes right?"

Riichi wasn't sure whether that was something she was expected to answer or not. She couldn't tell if Yukari remembered that her version of parents was significantly different than most kids. The girl's continued talking saved her from this inner debate. "I have to go now. Studying and all you know. Oh, good luck on your exams. Though you're always at the top of the class, so I guess you don't really need much luck." She laughed good-naturedly at her joke and then waited for Riichi's responding, "You too," before she cut the call.

Flipping her phone closed and depositing it haphazardly on her bed, Riichi set herself down on her desk and placed her head in her folded arms. In all the excitement that had surrounded her recently she had completely forgot about exams. While she had kept up with her homework and was pretty sure she would still be in the top ten of her class (when you strove to be at the top for the last ten years of your life studying became something of a second nature after all) she hadn't exactly been very diligent in reviewing her materials. If she wasn't at least in the top three she wasn't sure what would become of her scholarship either. The girl let out an exhausted sigh and allowed herself to groan into her desk. This all sucked.

oOo

So Ryouji had evidently felt as awkward about this whole situation as her, if the fact that as soon as he walked into the room and laid eyes on her he had flushed scarlet was any indication. So the rest of the night was passed in strained silence. They had taken turns on trying to make up by occasionally asking each other study questions, but apparently pointers on memorizing formulas and what conjunction should be used here wasn't enough to bridge the gap.

In short they had gone to bed no more comfortable then they had left it that morning. Riichi wasn't sure about her roommate, but she had found it rather hard to fall asleep both nights. Worrying herself like this wasn't going to be any help for the oncoming exams.

When she woke up Monday morning, it groggily occurred to her that they had the day off as one more chance to cram for exams. Riichi found herself cursing the fact that it was yet another day that her and Ryouji would be forced into their careful ballet around each other.

She was rather surprised when he took the initiative and shook her further awake though. The girl rolled over to peer up curiously into the boy's bright eyes. He looked sheepish and altogether unsure, but he cleared his throat and began talking. "I'm going to the public library to study. It's easier to get things done there." He paused and for a moment Riichi thought he had merely woken her to explain this to her. But his gaze shifted to the side and he fidgeted nervously. "Would you maybe, like to come with me?"

In the girl's shock she remained perfectly still. Ryouji took her silence for a refusal and backed away. "Sorry, you were still sleeping and all. I should have just left you alone." He turned around to retreat further and Riichi found herself growing terrified of the prospect of him leaving.

She dove forward and hastily snatched at the fabric of his shirt. Ryouji glanced over his shoulder at the tug and came face-to-face with the upper half of Riichi's body hanging off her mattress. If the girl had been thinking straight at the time she would have had enough sense to blush; or she would have noticed that hanging suspended from her bed like this was beginning to make her back hurt something fierce. "I'll come!" she announced, voice tinged lightly with nervousness. "Just, wait for me to get changed alright." The boy gave a surprised nod and waited patiently as she finished climbing out of bed, snatched up her clothing, and disappeared into the bathroom to change.

Riichi emerged in jeans and one of Ryouji's zip-up hoodies (courtesy of her not having any "decent" clothing), panting lightly from having rushed. The boy gave an awkward smile and hiked his bag higher up on his shoulder. After she had procured her own study materials Riichi followed him out. They walked side-by-side in silence and the girl found herself glad that they were leaving at such an early time. If anyone had spotted them there would have been jokes cracked about how they looked like a teenage couple on their first date. The bad thing about it was she felt she wouldn't have been able to argue with them.

Riichi was pretty grateful for this though, truth be told. On top of learning where the library was (for being a rich kid's school their school library, for lack of a better word, sucked) which was something she'd been planning to do for a long time now, Ryouji was also probably giving them the best environment to properly mend their relationship. Away from the guys at school who knew them and their respected roles, not to mention Junpei, and away from all the potential teasing that their awkwardness might initiate.

All thoughts of this were completely blown away when they arrived though. The girl stared up at the hulking building that called itself a library and effectively gaped like an idiot. Ryouji chuckled at her side, "Do you like it?" he asked, after she had shown no indication of moving.

"It's huge," she breathed. If she hadn't been so enraptured with the size of the place she would have marveled at how intelligent that particular statement had been. "This whole thing is the library?"

Ryouji confirmed it with a nod and another laugh. "Yup. It's nice isn't it?" Without waiting for her prompting he placed a hand on her back and gently propelled her up the stairs. "It should be pretty empty right now. Not many people normally come during this time of day." She barely registered anything he said as he led her into the building and through the aisle ways. The girl had never seen so many books together in one place. Even living with the owners of a used book store hadn't prepared her for this.

The boy led them to a table near the back of the library and finally succeeded in bringing her attention back to him. "I've been here a lot, so if there's a book you need I can probably help you find it. It's easy to get lost in here if you can imagine." The memory of the seemingly thousands of shelves led her to believe that yes, she could imagine very easily.

They seated themselves opposite each other and spread out their textbooks. The silence that enveloped them when they began, Riichi was glad to note, was easy. For the first three hours there was little interaction between them except the occasional '_Can I see your chem notes_,' and '_Can you pass me my eraser_".

After this initial period of productivity, Riichi let her forehead rest on her English book and gave a loud moan. "I hate Ekoda, and I hate Classic lit."

Ryouji chuckled amiably. "Do you need help? That's my best subject."

She rolled her head in what was supposed to be a no. "I get it, it's just tedious." The girl let out another groan for good measure, one which elicited a second laugh from her companion. She lifted her head up to rest on her chin and glared halfheartedly at him. "How come you're still so energetic? Do you actually like studying or something?" Riichi had to admit that just because she was good at it, didn't mean that she enjoyed the practice.

He shook his head. "I just know how to pace myself." Noticing her utter lack of motivation he shut his book and attempted to at least organize the mess that had accumulated around him. "Do you want to go out somewhere then?" At her surprised stare he flushed lightly. "I meant to eat! For lunch. You didn't eat breakfast so..."

And things had gotten awkward again. The pair found that they couldn't look at each other.

"I'm up for it," Riichi voiced, barely loud enough to be heard.

Ryouji did hear it though, and he beamed. When she glanced up to see his reaction she almost wanted to blush. "I know a café close by. It might be a little girly, but they have good sandwiches." He had began excitedly packing away his stuff and Riichi had to hasten in order to catch up with his progress. "You like grilled chicken sandwiches right? They make the best in this area."

She was surprised he had remembered. That had been something she had said offhandedly one day. Riichi really couldn't look at him now. There was a strange fluttering in her chest that wouldn't stop and she was becoming terrified of what it could mean. She was a boy right now, that was an unchangeable fact. Riichi was starting to wonder if maybe it was herself that she needed to keep reminding of this.

They each shouldered their bags and began the long trek back to the front of the library. For some reason Ryouji had become ridiculously happy, and his bright smile and excited chatter was making it harder for her to focus on anything but him. She supposed it was the fact that for the first time in a long time they were talking like they used to that made it so she wasn't paying attention to where she was walking. But when he was in the middle of explaining how he had found their destined café, Riichi found herself crashing into something very solid. The next thing the girl knew she was on the floor, surrounded by a mountain of books that upon further inspection looked particularly heavy. Riichi found herself staring into the gray eyes of a teenage girl. The girl blinked for a minute before she placed a surprised hand over her mouth and hastily stood up. "Oh my, I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going. It's entirely my fault."

Riichi waved in a manner that was supposed to be placating but turned out merely awkward. "It's alright, I wasn't exactly paying attention either."

The girl leaned down in order to help her up, but Ryouji had already beaten her to the punch. The boy had taken a firm hold on her upper arm and pulled her upwards. Riichi unconsciously grabbied his wrist with her free hand in order to steady herself. When she had gotten fully on her feet she returned her attention to the other girl, who by now was clasping her hands in front of her in anxious concern. "Um, are you okay?" she asked, voice tinged with far more worry than Riichi thought was necessary.

The brunette nodded her head and gave a smile that she hoped was reassuring. "Yeah, I'm perfectly fine."

Ryouji, upon having confirmed Riichi was alright, turned his 100-watt smile towards the girl. "And are you alright?" he asked sweetly. "It would be just terrible if you were to get hurt."

She blushed brightly and Riichi found herself rolling her eyes at the boy's theatrics. "Um, I'm fine," the girl timidly assured. Her eyes narrowed slightly and Riichi was under the impression she was scrutinizing the two of them. "Are you by chance, Ryouji Mochizuki?"

The boy cocked his head flirtatiously. "Oh so you know me? I'm very flattered."

She flushed again before turning her attention towards Riichi. "Then you must be Riichi Kitamura."

Riichi was slightly taken aback at this. "Y-yes," she stammered. "But how would you know that?"

The girl smiled softly. "Oh, I go to Seven Sister's. Mochizuki-san is very famous over there you know. Recently there's been a rumor going around that he's been hanging around with a very pretty boy." Her expression, if it was even possible, softened further. "I figured since I've never seen you before, that it must be you."

Riichi hadn't known that she had gotten so recognizable. It was even more surprising that her reputation had gotten to the point where people could pick her out simply from the words 'pretty boy' and 'hanging around with Ryouji'. "Well um, it's nice to meet you…" she trailed off, realizing that while the girl knew about them she hadn't yet introduced herself.

The girl seemed to realize this herself and jumped to remedy it. "I'm sorry, I'm Saori Hasegawa. It's a pleasure."

"That's a lovely name," Ryouji inputted.

Riichi sharply elbowed him in order to get him to shut up. By the sharp intake of breath it had apparently worked. "Are you here studying too?" Riichi asked, her tone pleasant despite the fact that she had her elbowed posed ready in order to jab at the boy again.

Saori shook her head quickly. "Oh, no. I work here part time. We have the day off for exams as well so I thought I could be productive and help out. Not many people come at this time so I can study on the side." She suddenly remembered the books scattered at their feet and let out another timid gasp. "Oh no. I hope they're okay." The girl bent down and went to work on collecting them.

The two still standing both glanced at each other. Seeming to come to an agreement, they both bent down in order to help. "They made you carry _all_ of this?" Riichi asked, upon retrieving three rather thick texts.

The girl laughed softly. "Well not at the same time," she admitted. "But these were all in the same area so I figured it would save time to take them all at once."

Ryouji and Riichi exchanged another glance.

"Um, thank you for your help." Saori focused her soft smile back on them as she stood up on shaky legs. "I can take the rest of them." The girl held out her arms, as if expecting the other two to place their collections on top of what was already an obviously heavy load.

Ryouji was the first to decline the invitation. "I couldn't let a pretty girl carry all of this herself." Saori forwent blushing for looking shocked that he could suggest such a thing as helping her.

Riichi gave a short nod of affirmation. "We're already carrying them, just let us help you out." She wasn't sure what Ryouji's reasons were—though she wouldn't be surprised if part of it was a hope to score a number—but the sight of the girl struggling with what she was already carrying was heart wrenching. Maybe she was just the sap Junpei occasionally called her out to be. "Lead the way."

Riichi's prompting seemed to make the girl remember herself. Saori jumped and gave a shy nod before she turned and led them down a nearby aisle way. They trudged after her until she stopped in front of a rather barren looking shelf. "Here is fine, I can handle the rest." She smiled at them and motioned towards the floor, indicating for them to drop their loads there.

The boy cocked his head quizzically. "Are you sure you don't want us to help?"

Saori shook her head, though her smile had brightened slightly. "No, it's alright. They need to be rearranged a certain way." The girl paused, as if trying to think over what one would say in this situation, and then spoke a soft, "Thank you."

Riichi found that she couldn't not smile at that. "It's no problem," she assured as she set her books down at the girl's feet. "It was my fault you dropped everything anyway, so it's common courtesy." Saori's expression told her that the girl was entirely new to the very idea. Riichi wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that this might be the first kind thing someone had done for this girl in a long time.

Saori's gaze moved to the floor and she fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment. "Um, will you two be returning? To the library?"

Ryouji was the first to answer. "Of course. How could I pass up meeting with a lovely lady such as yourself?"

"Ignore him," Riichi snorted, taking her own advice and ignoring the insulted huff the boy gave. "We'll definitely come back. It's really nice here after all." Saori's bright smile was enough to make the girl smile herself. She wouldn't have minded staying and chatting a little more with her, but her failure to eat breakfast that morning was finally catching up with her. The earlier talk of grilled chicken sandwiches was resurfacing and making her mouth water as well. "It was nice meeting you," she said. With a smile and a short wave, Riichi grabbed Ryouji's elbow before he could suggest they stay longer and attempted to drag him with her. "I'll see you soon alright?"

The dark haired girl gave a nod, and this one was much stronger than her earlier ones Riichi was happy to note. "Of course. I'm here most days after school. Just ask for me at the front desk."

"We'll be sure to do that," Ryouji called back sweetly, giving his own playful wave.

They waited until they had gotten a good deal away before Ryouji let his expression drop and Riichi relinquished the boy's arm. "Do you notice it as well?" he asked, eyes flicking towards her in order to gauge her reaction.

Riichi bit her lip in frustration. "Yes," she answered. "She didn't know what to do with kindness." Her frustration escalated. "How badly do you get treated to honestly think that it's unusual to be helped out?"

Ryouji, noticing how tightly her teeth were clamped down, patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Well, we're coming back right, so it'll be okay." When she looked up at him in surprise the boy winked playfully. "Besides, you're her knight in shining armor right? You'll definitely be able to lift her spirits up some."

The girl could honestly say she was thoroughly confused now. "Why?" was all she could come up with at the moment. "I mean, yeah that's what I'm hoping I'll do, but what are you talking about?"

He chuckled merrily. "You mean you didn't notice?" He didn't even wait for her 'no' to continue. "She took quite a liking to you. When she was asking if we'd come back she kept glancing at you."

No she hadn't noticed. Riichi focused her gaze straight in front of her and wrestled with the feeling of panic that was beginning to claw it's way up her stomach. "Is that so?" she asked, managing to keep her voice from cracking with strain. "Maybe she just thinks I'm a really nice person."

It was a stretch, she knew it was. But there was always a chance right? Apparently Ryouji thought it was as farfetched as she did because he shot an amused glance towards her before shrugging. "If you say so." His smile widened and the boy crossed his arms. "Personally I would be happy to have a girl like Saori-chan. She's very sweet, don't you think so?"

Riichi chuckled, and this time she couldn't keep the dryness out of it. "Sure, yeah. You know I'm really starting to think this café idea is the best you've had in a while. Can we get on that now?"

Ryouji's laugh this time was completely unrestrained. "Anything for you," he promised as he swung an arm over her shoulders. "In celebration of this budding new romance, I'll even treat you."

Even the mention of her new romance problem couldn't keep the smile off her face. Riichi returned his laugh and had to remind herself not to reach up and grasp the wrist that was hanging down from her shoulder. "Just for that, I'm going to get the most expensive thing on the menu," she threatened playfully. "And then I'll think about getting everything else."

It wasn't until she looked up at his horribly bright smile and stared into his laughing gaze that she realized the arm around her was quite warm and that the dark color of his hair contrasted really nicely with the lighter color of his eyes. It hit her at that moment, that she just might be in trouble.

oOo

It took a good three days into the exams for the confrontation that she knew would happen sooner or later. Thursday afternoon had Riichi slumping over her desk and cursing all the godly beings for the existence of math and the utter uselessness of logarithms in everyday life. The shadow that fell across her desk was unwelcome but not unexpected. When the girl lifted her gaze to greet whoever was staring at her, the only question she had was why he hadn't come around sooner.

"We need to talk."

The sight of Junpei looking so serious—not to mention energetic; he wasn't even _decent_ at math and he still had more energy than she did—just seemed unrealistic to her at the moment. So when he hoisted her up on her feet and dragged her off by the wrist she put up minimal to no resistance. The boy succeeded in dragging her all the way through the school building and it wasn't until they had made it to the shoe lockers that she was able to finally collect her bearings and assure the boy that she could damn well walk on her own. He didn't put up much objection when it became obvious that she was still following him. By the time they had finished their little trek they had ended up back in the dorms and inside Junpei's room.

Riichi stretched her arms above her head and gave a relieved sigh. "So, this is about the whole thing that happened Saturday night right?"

He looked startled that she had brought it up on her own, but wasted no time in letting the chance go. "Ok, I just want to say that—and trust me when I say this is _really_ awkward for me—I totally accept you guys."

That hadn't been what she expected, and Riichi displayed this with an elegant, "Huh?"

Junpei twirled his hand, as if doing so would explain what he meant and show and his acceptance of it at the same time. "You guys, _together_."

Her expression melted into dumb comprehension. "Oh," was all she could manage at the moment. Remembering herself, Riichi shook her head wildly and placed up a halting hand before Junpei could spout any more nonsense. "I think you have the completely wrong idea about what's going on here," she tried.

The boy waved her away easily. "I get it, it's alright. I mean, you two pretty much scream '_We're screwing_' anyway. I guess I should have seen it coming." Riichi opened her mouth to dispute this but was cut off when she felt his hands grip her shoulders firmly. She was stunned that he had gotten to her this quickly. "I have to say this though. I only approve of wholesome relationships."

For some reason, this became of higher importance than getting Junpei to realize that she wasn't having sex with her roommate. "What? I don't want you of all people telling me that," she snarled. "Since when has anything not involving miniskirts or porn gotten your seal of approval?"

Junpei furrowed his brow and glared back at her. "Put yourself in my shoes man. I know we're bros and everything, but honestly when it comes to this stuff you're like my little sister. I don't want to think of you doing naughty stuff, it's downright disturbing. Not to mention it's another good friend that you're doing it with."

"You joke all the time about me having sex—this isn't even relevant!" She rolled her eyes in exhaustion and violently shrugged off the boy's hands. "Alright listen to me. There is nothing between me and Ryouji alright? We're roommates. We're friends. Anything more is just your creepy delusions." She shivered, as if doing so would bring home how freaky she thought said delusions were.

He leveled her with a searching gaze. "You're not shitting with me right?" His tone was even and controlled.

Riichi gave a tired sigh. "No. I swear on the orphanage that there is nothing going on between us."

Junpei continued staring at her, searching for any indications of deceit. After a few minutes he seemed satisfied that she wasn't lying to him and he visibly relaxed. "You can't blame me can you?" he shrugged as he moved across his floor to flop down in the beat up beanbag chair he normally occupied. "I mean, in the position you two were in anyone would have come to the same conclusion."

She snorted, though this one had a twinge of laughter in it. "Actually I think anyone would have thought he was threatening me," she retorted. Her exhaustion from earlier caught back up with her and Riichi found that she wanted nothing more than to lie down. So she took her usual spot on his bed, and propped up her head with a few of his pillows to allow her continued sight of the boy.

They were silent for a few moments before Junpei's smile curled devilishly. "You can't tell me you don't want to be doing him. I've seen the way you look at him."

All she _wanted_ to do at the moment was slug this boy.

oOo

Friday had passed with a surprisingly easy composition exam (_Really Ms. Toriumi? You could have at least made it look as if you cared._) and Saturday's history, while looking more like an exam than composition sure had, wasn't much more of a challenge.

When the last exam let out Riichi had joined the throngs of excited students in rushing out of the school and across the street to the dorms. The sheer amount of freedom she had felt when she reached her room and stood in the middle of the floor was overwhelming. Quickly afterwards Ryouji had returned as well, an equally relieved Junpei in tow.

"Dude you got a hot date or something?" Junpei teased. "You ran outta there like something was chasing you."

Riichi snorted and stuck her tongue out at him. "I have to pack. I didn't get anything done this whole week."

The boy leveled her with an incredulous look. "Oh sure, 'cuz you have so much stuff you need to pack. You're just taking clothes back home, it's going to take you fifteen minutes."

She couldn't argue with him there.

As he made himself comfortable on top of her bed she wrestled her suitcase out of her closet and set to work. Amidst his conversation with Ryouji she was hit by a thought. "Wait, what are you doing here?" the girl asked, turning to focus her confused gaze on Junpei.

The boy mirrored her confusion. "Chilling?" he responded, clearly not understanding the reason for this inquiry.

"No I get that." She shook her head and turned around to face him fully. "But aren't you supposed to be packing too? I know you've got tons of things that you lug back and forth with you."

Ryouji was the one who answered this time. "He didn't tell you?"

She shook her head in the negative. "Tell me what?"

"I'm not going home," Junpei explained, looking as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Is it really that surprising?"

Riichi took this time to stride over and throw herself on the comforter next to him. "But you came home on all your breaks last year," she pointed out. "What's different about it this time?"

He cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms in amusement. "Let's think about this Reech," he began, earning her confused and slightly wary gaze. "Who was it that I wasn't able to see everyday last year? And please don't say Yuka-tan because that's just cruel." She closed her mouth and silently sulked at the lost opportunity. Damn he could read her like a book sometimes. "You're pretty much right next door now. The only reason I went back last year was because you couldn't come here."

She didn't want to, but Riichi felt pretty flattered right then. "So does that mean you're going to be MIA for all of break?" she inquired. Maybe it was the fact that she was so used to seeing him everyday, but the thought that she wouldn't be seeing her best friend for a week was kind of strange. Or maybe it was the fact that she wouldn't be seeing him during a break that was odd and old habits just died particularly hard.

Junpei laughed and reached over to give her shoulder a playful punch. "Dude it's like a twenty minute train ride. It's not like I'm all the way in Hokkaido. I'll come and visit, don't worry your girly head over it." Riichi figured she should probably sock him for the 'girly' comment, but decided to let it slide since Ryouji was taking this all as a joke anyway.

Her attention turned to her roommate, who had remained mostly silent so far. "How about you?" she asked, receiving a slightly surprised but warm smile in return.

"I'm staying here too," Ryouji informed her. "I live a ways away from here and well, there's really no point in me going back home." He shrugged amiably. "I'll keep our room safe from Junpei-kun. You can trust me."

Riichi snorted in laughter as Junpei cried out in offense. "I'm not _that _bad," the boy huffed. Perhaps in an effort to keep them from ganging up on him further, he returned his full attention to the girl at his side. "Hey, when I do come and visit is it alright if I crash at your place?"

The girl was about to ask why when she remembered herself. Junpei's home life, while much more stable than hers, wasn't any more spectacular. His mother had disappeared at an early age and while his father was alright on good days, he could be terrifying when he was drunk, which was almost an everyday thing. Riichi had come to understand the boy's desire to be out of the house pretty quickly. So she smiled and gave a short nod. "Of course. Don't you do it even when I don't okay it?"

He grinned and leaned over to capture her neck in a hold. "That's my bestest bud. Always coming through for me."

She yelped and snarled and fought, but like always Riichi was forced to concede defeat and admit that she couldn't overpower him like this. When she had successfully managed to get Junpei to allow her to wriggle out of his hold she ventured to ask a question that had been bugging her for a while.

"So why exactly are we getting this break?" she asked, rubbing the back of her neck to soothe it from it's earlier abuse. "Do you guys always have a break at this time? I mean, it's just midterms, it's not like it's the finals or anything."

Ryouji shrugged from his position on his bed. "I think it's to make up for not giving us Golden week off," he guessed. "This is a private institution, they can pretty much do whatever they want."

His explanation wasn't stellar, but she figured she could accept it.

Riichi sighed and picked herself up. "Well I guess I should go finish packing. As much fun as it sounds to hang around here for the next week, I'd rather go sleep in my own bed for once." Now that she had said that, it would be really nice to be able to be back in her own room. With her own stuff, her own _girly_ stuff to be precise. The thought of being able to act like a girl again was making her overly giddy with excitement. She caught Junpei's grin and had to turn away from him to keep herself from growling at him. His look pretty much screamed '_I know what you're thinking'. _Infuriating bastard.

Halfway through her packing Riichi was reminded of something else. "I guess I should probably tell him I'm leaving," she muttered absentmindedly.

Junpei looked up from his conversation with Ryouji. "Who are you telling?" he asked.

While curious, he didn't seem all that concerned about it. Which was why Riichi didn't think anything about offhandedly answering, "Shinjirou-senpai."

The deathly silence that responded to her was not expected however. The girl turned around to look at the boys, half concerned and half surprised. Junpei's face had paled considerably and she had never seen the boy look so terrified. This reaction seemed to be new to Ryouji as well because his expression melted into concern. "Um, Junpei-kun? Is something wrong?"

Junpei ignored the other boy and bounded over her bed to grab the girl roughly by the shoulders. "Are we talking about the Shinjiro Aragaki that completely destroys anything he doesn't like? The Shinjirou Aragaki that makes small children cry? The Shinjirou Aragaki that curdles milk with just a _look_?"

Riichi's expression couldn't seem to decide between bafflement and skepticism. "I think you're over exaggerating just a bit, but yeah. That Shinjirou Aragaki." She had by then finished typing her message and clicked the send button without a second thought. "I don't understand why you find him so terrifying. He's really not that bad."

Junpei ignored this to stare down at the screen of her phone. "Wait, you just mailed him?" There was more surprise than horror in his tone. She gave a slow nod, as if displaying how obvious the answer to that had been. "You have his _number_? When did—how did—why did…" He trailed off, unable to decide what question he wanted answered first. Finally he settled for, "And he just _gave_ it to you?"

Riichi nodded, then rethought her answer and gave a half nod, half shrug. "Well, it was more like he gave it to me so I would shut up about it. But yeah I guess it was willingly."

This whole thing was obviously too much for the boy. Junpei allowed his arms to fall limply to his sides. He trudged back lifelessly to his spot on her bed and seated himself down without a word. During the exchange Ryouji's gaze had gone from concerned to baffled to simply confused. He exchange a glance with Riichi, in which the girl shrugged in order to show she hadn't any clue what was the big deal either. (Ryouji hadn't seemed to find anything wrong with her strange friendship with the senior. Or well, he didn't after she had explained that the whole fiasco from before had been a misunderstanding on her part.)

She returned her phone to her pocket and her attention to her packing. It hadn't taken her much longer to finish, Junpei hadn't been lying at all when he said she was pretty much only taking clothes home. The girl checked her phone one last time before deciding that Shinjirou wasn't going to answer her. He was either too busy to be bothered to care, or he was too shy to answer since she had contacted him so shortly after receiving his number. Riichi felt her lips curl impishly as she decided she would believe it was the second reason. Senpai's softer side could be cute sometimes.

oOo

Sunday morning and a twenty minute train ride later had her at the doorstep of her current home. She had been greeted with awkward hugs and a celebration that wasn't as wild as it could have probably been since two out of the three people involved in it were unable to stay awake past nine. Sometimes it was kind of amusing to be the daughter of two elderly people.

During that time though Junpei had still managed to call her up and complain about how he was already bored. Riichi had tactfully forgotten to mention that no one had forced him to stay at the dorms. When she mentioned that she was meeting up with Yukari and a new girl, he had jumped at the veiled offer to join them. She would have been exasperated if it hadn't been so amusing. As it stood though she was kind of excited for their outing. It had been a while since the three of them had been able to get together—and not have an exceptionally awkward situation to thank for it—so this was a pretty welcome thing.

What Riichi hadn't done though, was informed Yukari of this change to the plan. Junpei's call had come late and Riichi had been afraid to call Yukari at that time of night. Texting her about this was a big no-no as well. It was common knowledge that the girl hated making plans through mails, and inviting Junpei on such a short notice was something that Riichi was going to need her in a good mood for.

So while she was doing her hair that morning (it was refreshing to be able to let her real hair out for once) Riichi had dialed the girl's number and waited patiently for her to pick up. Yukari's confused voice filled her ear without much of a wait. "Hey Yukari, sorry to spring this on you, but is it okay if we add another person to the ranks?"

The girl sighed, and Riichi could almost picture Yukari's expression. "You're talking about Junpei right? It's okay, I figured he'd find some way to weasel his way into this. You guys are almost like a package deal, it's so hard to get you on your own."

Riichi giggled and moved her phone so that her shoulder supported it in order to free up her hand to place her bobby pins in her hair. "You make it sound as if you aren't happy about it," she teased. "I don't see why you guys won't just admit that you're good friends. You bicker like you're already married anyway." She had to hold back another bout of giggles at the almost imperceptible groan the other girl gave.

"I'm going to forget you just said that," Yukari sniffed tiredly. "He better behave himself though. I like Fuuka, and I don't want Stupei to scare her away with his stupidness."

Having finished her hair, Riichi curled slim fingers back around her phone and stepped back in order to check her appearance in the mirror. As she stared at her skirt and leggings the girl felt warmth rush into her chest. It was so great to be able to be a girl again.

"Earth to Riichi. Helloooo? You still there?"

Yukari's voice brought her back and Riichi hastened to answer. "Oh yeah. Sorry, sorry, I got caught up in something." She would commit ritual suicide before she explained to Yukari that she was slipping into daydreams because she could wear skirts again. She readjusted her hold on her phone and exited the bathroom. "We're still meeting up at the Wild Duck right?"

Yukari confirmed this with a confident, "Of course."

The chime of the doorbell filled the house and Riichi found herself hurriedly making a beeline for the stairs. She covered the mouthpiece of her phone with her palm before calling out, "I've got it!" Returning to her conversation with Yukari she rambled off a quick, "He's here, see you soon," before hanging up.

The girl slid to a halt in front of the door and pulled it open. "You always show up when I'm talking to Yukari. I'm starting to think you're doing it on purpose."

All further teasing was abruptly cut off when she looked up.

Junpei gave a strained laugh and refused to meet her gaze. "So, uh. Hope you don't mind."

As Riichi's gaze traveled from the sheepish look Junpei wore, to the really shocked and obviously confused Ryouji, the only thing the girl could think was, '_Oh shit.'_


	8. Lying is the Most Fun

_I have a legitimate reason for the time it took to get this out. My computer broke on me. Twice. Luckily I had it backed up, or it would have probably been another month until you guys got this. But aaaanyways. I'm going to fullly admit that Fuuka is one of the harder characters for me to write, so if she's slightly OoC I truly apologize. And I do realize that this chapter is rife with cliches, but since this story as a whole is a cliche, I figured I should keep it up. Thanks again,_

_Oh and the question about her wig posed by **rion**. It is cut short, and it's the same color as her natural hair. Sorry, I thought I had said something about it earlier in the story, but I probably forgot to actually put it in. _

* * *

_**Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off**_

It could have only been about ninety seconds, but it felt like the three of them had continued staring at each other for hours.

"Rii…chi?"

Ryouji's voice lit a spark in the girl and on instinct she took a hasty step back and slammed the door in his face. She pressed her back against it, as if adding the extra weight was going to ensure that Ryouji didn't try to break in after her. Her breath came out in short hitches. It wouldn't have surprised her if she started hyperventilating right then and there.

He had seen her. _He had seen her!_

In a brief moment of insanity she tried to make herself believe that he wasn't really there. She was just tricking herself into having this heart attack. But even in complete desperation her rational side won out, and she was forced to face the fact that yes, Ryouji had been out there, and by the shuffling and soft, confused '_Riichi?_'s that filtered through the wood of the door, he was _still_ out there.

Well, there really wasn't anything she could do about him seeing her. The only real way to keep him silent would be to either hit him over the head and hope to cause amnesia, or to silence him for good. Honestly, neither of these ideas were really panning out for her. She supposed she could explain away her appearance somehow. Unfortunately that opened up the question of 'how'. The girl contemplated telling him she was a cross dresser, but that idea was scrapped after a little more thought. Cross-dressing as a boy who is cross-dressing as a girl was getting a little too complicated for her taste. If she did that she would just end up confusing herself. For a moment she thought about just biting the bullet and telling him the truth. That thought was quickly discarded as well. That idea could be as disastrous as it could be relieving, and she wasn't ready to take that kind of a chance, especially not with her roommate.

After having gotten nowhere, Riichi recalled that there was another person on the other side of that door. The memory that Junpei was here as well brought back the realization of exactly whose fault it was that she was now in this bind. The girl hastily made sure that the door was locked before removing herself from it and stalking further into the house so as not to be heard. She pulled out her phone and thanked God that she had Junpei on speed-dial. As she put the cell to her ear with shaky fingers Riichi couldn't fight the anxiety that came with the thought that the boy just might not pick up.

Though she was relieved when she heard the clicking of the connection, she couldn't honestly say she was any happier.

"Can he hear you?" was the first thing that spilled out of her mouth. Riichi figured she probably didn't need to whisper, but it was a precaution in case Ryouji had supersonic hearing or something else that was completely idiotic, but strangely believable in her frantic state.

There was a short silence and a sound of what might have been footsteps, before Junpei answered her with a short, "No."

Now assured of the privacy of their conversation, Riichi allowed her emotions to fly. "What were you _thinking_?" she hissed. "Junpei, I know you're not an academic, but I thought you were smart enough to realize how _stupid_ this kind of idea was! Need I remind you that you're a part of this too? If I go down, you do too!"

"Just listen to me alright," the boy hissed back. "I was coming alone, I swear. I was at the main doors, _leaving_, when I ran into Ryouji, and I'll admit, I wasn't thinking at the time. I told him I was on my way to see you. It just slipped out!"

Riichi let out a groan that actually sounded more like a strangled cry. This was not helping her out in the least so far.

Junpei continued, sounding both indignant and like he was trying to soothe her. "He insisted he come too Reech, he _begged_ me. I couldn't say no, especially not after that whole fiasco with Aragaki-senpai; when I told him all that really nasty stuff. To save _your_ ass might I add. I'm pretty sure he's still kind of sensitive around me."

"You could have at least warned me he was coming!" she tried to hiss, but it came out more like a dying sob. The stress was finally beginning to get to her. Riichi supposed the good thing (if the only good thing) about crying would be that it would make Junpei feel like more of an ass.

"I tried!" he shot back, and she was kind of mad to realize that his hisses actually sounded like they were supposed to. "Your phone was busy, and apparently it doesn't send me straight to voice mail. You're lucky I even got that try in. Lover boy didn't want me to contact you because he wanted his appearance to be a surprise." It was Junpei's turn to groan, and the girl couldn't decide whether it was out of anger or just exhaustion. "I swear man, if I had a girl fawning all over me like the two of you do with each other, I would be in heaven."

She bristled viciously. "Junpei, I don't have time for your jealousy of what me and Ryouji don't have. Right now my secret's about to be blown sky high and I'd really appreciate some help here." Riichi was glad to note that this time her anger was very apparent. At least he now knew she was mad and not just simply frantic. "And please don't suggest something like 'I'm a hermaphrodite'. I'm serious here."

There was a pause, and Riichi was briefly horrified to think that he might have actually considered saying that.

"You could try and say your sister likes to dress you up in her clothes. I've heard of a few guys that have to go through that." His voice was serious and contemplative. It was nice to know that Junpei was actually trying to be helpful.

She clucked her tongue and 'mmed' a negative. "I'm pretty sure I told him I was an only child at some point in time. I can't have conflicting stories."

He snorted and muttered something about having siblings only when it was convenient. (She wasn't sure if she should take offense to that; partially because when she thought about it, he kind of had a point.) "Fine then, how about you're a clone? Riichi 2.0. Except you know, with like boobs and shit."

The girl wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Um, how about no." It would be a hell of a lot easier if she could just pretend to look identical to herself though.

Oh yeah, there was always that.

It was so easy that it had never crossed her mind. Riichi wanted to slap herself for not thinking of it sooner. "Thanks Junpei," she spoke into the phone, hastily straightening out her clothes and peeking into the hall mirror to make sure her hair was still in place.

Obviously not having expected this, Junpei's response was a stuttered. "Oh, y-yeah. Wait, really?"

Not really paying attention to him anymore, Riichi turned towards the door. She squared her shoulders and stared at it as if preparing herself for a long battle. "Alright, I'm coming back out. Whatever you do, don't call me Riichi alright." With this last order she ignored his protests of shock and shut her phone. If she was going to do this, she was going to have to do it right.

The girl marched towards the door, and managed to unlock it and turn the handle with only a smidgeon of terrified hesitance. When she opened the door again, her face was a mask of shy apology. Ryouji was still standing there, looking torn between confusion and concern. His expression once again belayed his shock when he got another chance to look at her though.

"Sorry about that," Riichi chirped, allowing a bit of girlish shyness to twine around her words. "I was startled. I wasn't expecting someone else to show up." By this time Junpei had regained his spot next to Ryouji and was staring at her as if she had grown another head. Riichi attempted to ignore him, smile still plastered firmly in place. "I suppose you're looking for my brother, but I'm sorry to say he's not here. He's rather flaky when it comes to remembering appointments." Junpei's expression melted into surprise. If she looked closely, there was also a bit of irritation under there. She couldn't really blame him, especially because she had already nixed his sister idea.

Ryouji just looked purely confused now. "But, I thought Riichi-kun said he was an only child."

Sometimes Ryouji's good memory was aggravating. "He did?" she tried to look genuinely surprised. It was kind of hard when she was cursing the boy and her luck. "Oh he did it again," the girl sighed in exasperation and placed a tired hand on her hip. "For some reason he doesn't like telling other people about me. He says it's because he doesn't want me to attract any suitors or whatnot, but honestly I think it's because he doesn't want others to think his face looks fine on a girl. Being twins has it's downfalls I suppose." It was rather strange to talk about herself this way. Riichi wasn't sure yet how to feel about this all.

There was a pause in which she was pretty sure Ryouji was staring at her. Honestly, the girl was too terrified to even properly look at him anymore to be able to tell. To both her surprise and delight, the boy finally chuckled softly. He had relaxed a little by now. The naturalness of her actions must have worked in putting him at ease, she was glad to note. "That does sound like him. He's very sensitive to that kind of stuff." His easy smile was back in place. "Ryouji Mochizuki. I'm your brother's roommate. Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier; I was a little surprised as well."

She smiled back and cocked her head in what would be girlish flirtation. "It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard a bit about you. Riichi is so tight-lipped when it comes to telling us about his friends though." She had almost said that she'd heard a lot about him. What had saved her from committing that blunder was the thought of how awkward it would be after admitting that she talked about the boy all the time.

"Likewise. Though I can't say I've really heard anything about you. It's a shame, you're such a pretty girl. If I were your brother I'd brag about you all the time." He reached up to shake her hand in greeting, and Riichi received it warmly. She was a little miffed that he was turning his signature charm on her though. Although she was technically a different person now, it was kind of irritating that he was treating her like all those girls he felt the need to charm. "Would you tell me your name?"

Damn it, she did it again. Riichi had been so caught up in spinning up a back story and a relationship with her imaginary brother that she had completely forgotten to concoct a name for herself. Damn people and their obsession with names. The girl let her eyes flick nervously towards Junpei. He provided not one iota of help, and honestly he looked almost as if he was enjoying this now. Damn him too while she was at it.

Riichi let out a nervous giggle as she tried to buy herself some time. A name, she needed a name. Her mind flicked through various ones, each of them she disliked more than the last. She knew she didn't really have the time to be picky, but if she was going to be called something else she wanted to at least like it. The girl stopped at a memory of days back at the orphanage and wishes of girly, frilly things, and she let it spill out of her mouth without a second thought.

"Rimi. My name is Rimi." She returned his sweet smile, allowing herself to relax again.

Riichi wasn't sure if it was a dangerous decision to pick a name so close to her actual one, but she supposed at least this way she'd be able to answer when people called her by it. It was also something already related to her. When she had been young that was the name she had wished to have. Riichi wasn't exactly a common girl's name, Rimi had been both cuter and more feminine. It had fit her desires and so she had desperately rallied to get it changed to that. Riichi was glad Atsuko had nixed the idea at once, but at least her obsession with the name had produced something useful.

"So Rimi-chan," Junpei cut in, his eyebrow cocked as if he thought her name of choice was both hilarious and stupid. "Are you still coming, or are we going to do this another day?" She narrowed her eyes, not quite sure what he was talking about and definitely not sure if she liked the way he was saying it. "Yuka-tan and all that."

Her mouth formed an 'o' and she gave a nod that might have actually been a shake of the head if one looked at it right. "I think," she finally settled on, after a moment of opening and closing her mouth in failed attempts at answering.

"You think?" he echoed. His mouth pinched tight in an obvious effort to hold back his laughter. "Alright, I'll give you some more time to think then."

Okay, now he was just being an ass on purpose.

"Is that a familiar voice I hear?"

Riichi wanted to scream into her hands at the voice that echoed down the hall to interrupt their exchange. Her foster father hobbled into view, taking a position next to her in the doorframe after she moved aside to allow him room. "Junpei-chan, it's been a while," he greeted good-naturedly. "Are you here to ask for my daughter's hand yet?"

Junpei smiled back and shook his head. "Not yet Bunkichi-san," he replied. "Give me another year or two and I might change my mind."

The man laughed and waved a crooked hand. "Oh just call me father. You'll probably be calling me that sooner or later," he teased

That was quite enough of this. Riichi wasn't sure if she was going to die of embarrassment or pass out from the amused look Ryouji was giving her. She cleared her throat roughly to bring attention back to herself and placed a gentle hand on the man's shoulder. "This is Ryouji Mochizuki," she introduced, almost forcefully in an attempt to make the man shift his full attention on the unfamiliar face. "He's _Riichi's_roommate from school."

Bunkichi looked up in brief confusion at her emphasis on her name, and then nodded in understanding before returning his gaze towards the raven haired boy. "It's nice to meet you," he greeted, holding out an arm to allow the boy to take it and gently shake. "I've heard a lot about you from Riichi-chan."

Riichi was too surprised to try and stop the blush from coloring her face scarlet. Damn it, why had he said that! She had to look away and try to covertly hide her face with a hand to keep Ryouji from seeing it. Junpei's expression was not helping things. Having him on the verge of dying in laughter was making her face flame even more, though it was in fury rather than further embarrassment.

Ryouji didn't seem to think much of it though. "Really? I hope he hasn't said anything bad about me," he joked. His smile was still the friendly one he almost always wore. Riichi found herself thankful he hadn't taken Bunkichi's comment the wrong way.

But she didn't have the energy to try and play damage control for what future blunders might occur because of the man. So she turned towards him and patted his shoulder gently. "Dad, we're going out now. We're meeting up with Yukari, the girl who brought the peaches as a gift that one time, and we'll be late if we don't leave soon." That was a lie, they still had a little time left, but she wasn't sure what would happen if they all continued to stay and chat like this.

The man's eyes widened. "You just…" he began, and couldn't seem to finish. The girl was about ready to scramble and apologize for whatever wrong she may have committed, but the man squeezed her hand affectionately and scuttled off down the hall at an alarming speed for someone his age. "Dear, dear!" he called. "She called me 'dad'! She finally called me dad!"

Completely baffled, Riichi stepped out and shut the door behind her. The three of them stood in a silence that was made awkward by the fact that two of the three weren't quite sure what to think of what had just happened. The silence was broken by Junpei's frenzied laughter.

"W-what?" Riichi snapped, cheeks staining pink.

Junpei howled and clutched at his stomach. "I can't believe he got so excited over that. Do you seriously treat him _that_ coldly?" His laughter went up another level in volume.

Riichi's expression flattened. After a minute she grabbed Ryouji by the upper arm and pulled him towards the road. "Um, what about-" the boy nervously began.

"Leave him," she cut off, voice devoid of any concern. "He can just stay like that."

Ryouji covered his mouth with a hand in an attempt to keep her from seeing the amused smile he bore. "If you say so," he replied. Even though it was obvious he found this exchange amusing his manner of speech was still very polite. "So your brother is…"

Riichi inwardly grimaced at the question. God she was going to make herself sound like such an asshole. "He um, had something important to do," she lied. "I'm not entirely sure what it was, he doesn't tell me these things. I'm sorry, he didn't mean to stand you two up. He's kind of bad at remembering when he promised to meet up with people. I'll scold him later." The thought of her scolding herself was actually kind of funny.

He smiled politely and shook his head. "Oh it's quite alright. I showed up unannounced anyway. So really he only forgot about Junpei-kun." Riichi couldn't help but snort in laughter at that. Now _that _jab had been unexpected.

"You guys are such bastards!" Speaking of the boy.

The two turned to see a rather frantic Junpei sprinting towards them. "I can't believe you just left me," he panted when he reached them. "Damnit, Ryouji do you always have to take Riichi's side?"

Ryouji cocked his head quizzically. Riichi forwent panic for glaring at him. "I'm Rimi," she reminded the boy. "You know, the female twin."

His gaze when he looked up at her was not amused. "I don't care if you're a drag queen. Stop doing this shit to me."

She bristled violently in offense. "Junpei-kun, you can't talk to a lady like that." She wasn't sure why she was so surprised when Ryouji came to her rescue, but Riichi found herself staring at the boy in disbelief. "It's quite rude."

Junpei seemed as surprised as Riichi was. Having caught his breath by now, he straightened back up and stared at the boy. After a moment he seemed to remember himself and rolled his eyes. "For all the shit these two put me through, I think I deserve a little leeway," he snorted.

Ryouji ignored him and turned his attention back to the girl. "Don't listen to him," he told her sweetly. "Guys like him give the rest of us a bad name." He held out a hand in offering, of which she accepted out of continued surprise. "If I may, I'll escort you to wherever we're headed."

"W-Wild Duck," she stammered.

The boy nodded and gently began to pull her along with him. "You'll have to forgive me," he told her. "I'm not as familiar with the area as either of you, so I hope you'll tell me if we're going in the wrong direction."

Riichi only nodded shyly, too preoccupied at the moment with how warm his hand was. When she realized what she was doing she fought down the blush and reminded herself that acting like a little girl was going to have harsh repercussions. She didn't, however, make any move to remove her hand from Ryouji's. "Um, it's no problem," she announced after clearing her throat. She was doing quite well at keeping the nervous girlishness out of her voice, she thought. "It's a pretty easy route, we'll be okay." Remembering their destination had triggered another memory.

Yukari was not going to be happy about this. The thought of just how unhappy the girl was going to be was enough to send shivers down her spine. Before Ryouji could think that he was the cause of her sudden discomfort, she went to nip the problem in the bud. "Junpei," she snapped over her shoulder. The boy responded with a glare of half surprise, half venom. "Inform Yukari of our change in plans."

His returning gaze practically screamed, '_how stupid do you think I am?'_ "How about you tell her?" he shot back. "It's your brother's fault anyway."

"No, it's your fault," she muttered under her breath, but didn't pursue that particular argument. Instead the girl turned further to get a better look at the boy directly behind them. "_Please_ Junpei. I-Riichi's already changed the plan once. If she thinks he's doing it again she'll be even madder." Her eyes flicked towards Ryouji. Junpei caught her sign, but wasn't any happier about his assigned role.

He snorted and fished around his pocket for his mobile. "Fine, but I don't want to hear any complaints about it later if the message isn't to your liking."

She gave a sigh of relief before allowing her body to twist back forward. Thank god. She didn't have the nerve to deal with Yukari's questions right now. Plus this would be a suitable punishment for Junpei. While she was good at diffusing the girl, he was far better at dealing with the mood swings that often accompanied the unpleasant things the two seemed to always bring into Yukari's life. She felt bad for thinking this way, and she really did love the girl, but it was almost like a tag-team effort to be able to effectively deal with Yukari Takeba.

"That's right," Ryouji piped up beside her. Riichi looked up and locked eyes with another of his bright smiles. "She doesn't know you're coming either does she." He chuckled amiably. "So we're both a surprise then, aren't we?"

She giggled in response and tried not to allow the strain she knew was there to peek through. "You're absolutely right."

Yukari would be surprised all right. And the threat of that surprise was making every step that much harder to take.

oOo

Riichi hadn't really had the dread cement in her stomach until she could see the silhouette of the restaurant down the street. She was suddenly very grateful for the fact that she was still holding Ryouji's hand, and also terrified of what might happen because of it. The closer they got, the harder it was to swallow around the large lump that had formed in her throat. Pretty soon though it was impossible to pretend not to notice the figures of Yukari and an unknown girl, who Riichi presumed to be the mentioned Fuuka Yamagishi.

Yukari noticed their little group at once. It was obvious that her attention was focused solely on Riichi because at first she didn't even mention the extra tagalong they had. "Hey! Bout time you showed up. And Junpei sent me a weird text a while ago. What's this about calling you Ri-" She cut herself off when her gaze shifted to the girl's side, and instead of the expected Junpei it was Ryouji who was smiling back at her.

"Surprise," he said. Everything about him was friendly despite the fact that Yukari was looking at him with a gaze of mixed horror and disgust. When her eyes traveled down to lock onto their linked hands, the horror only intensified. Riichi suddenly felt very self-conscious.

Without any thought for propriety, Yukari pointed an accusing finger at Ryouji. "Why is _he_ with you?" she demanded. Her eyes flickered once more towards their hands and Riichi didn't miss the second question in them. The girl allowed her narrowed gaze flick back angrily towards Junpei. Apparently the boy hadn't decided to let Yukari know the most important thing before they showed up.

Junpei ignored her obvious animosity and laughed from behind them. Deciding he needed to play damage control on this one, he wormed his way between the two and threw his arms over their shoulders. The three stood in a line, which was made even more awkward by the fact that the two on the ends hadn't bothered to remember to unlink their hands. "Well funny story you know. My boy Ryouji here decided he wanted to surprise Riichi, so he tagged along when I went to go pick the kid up. Low and behold he apparently forgot that we were meeting up today, so Rimi here decided to come in his stead."

Yukari was clearly not amused. "You have got to be kidding me," the girl finally spat out.

"Sorry I'm the wrong _twin_," Riichi giggled nervously. She hoped the girl hadn't missed her subtle hint. Actually she was hoping Yukari wasn't going to choose to ignore said hint.

"Um," the short haired girl who had been standing with Yukari moved to see them all better. "Is everything alright?" she asked, her timid voice laced with genuine concern.

"We'll see," Yukari muttered darkly, and Riichi shivered again. With a long, exhausted sigh, the brunette angled herself so that she was facing both the girl and the trio. "This is Fuuka Yamagishi, she's a classmate and good friend. Fuuka, this is Junpei, Ryouji," (there was a hesitance before she said his name, and when she had she looked like she had swallowed something nasty) "and Rimi?"

Riichi hoped she was the only one who had caught the question at the end. She nodded brightly, both as an answer to Yukari and a greeting towards Fuuka. "It's nice to meet you," she chirped. "Yukari's told me a lot about you."

The girl flushed lightly and her gaze fell to the floor. "Well, um, thank you," she stammered. "It's nice to meet you as well."

Ryouji was the next to speak. "Ah, Yamagishi-san, you're very pretty. You shouldn't hide it by bowing your head like that."

Going on practiced instinct, Riichi released his hand and jabbed her elbow roughly into his ribs. "So Fuuka-san," she began, ignoring the wheeze of pain next to her and the sound of Junpei's giggles in her ear. "How did you and Yukari first meet?"

Fuuka looked torn between answering the girl and making sure that the boy was alright. "Well," she began, still looking unsure if she should continue. "We got put in the same group for a history project. We kind of became friends through working together."

"You should tell me more," Riichi prodded. "I've been out of the loop for a long time; I really want to get caught up." She took a step forward and procured both girls' hands to pull towards the entrance of the restaurant.

The look Yukari was now giving her was both amused and slightly disturbed. "Jealous much," the girl whispered to her.

Riichi looked up at her, surprised and momentarily confused. "About him?" she asked. "Oh, no I've learned that's the easiest way to keep him from trying to charm everything he sees." She shrugged lightly. "It works."

"Um, is he going to be okay?" Fuuka asked at her side. She kept shooting her gaze nervously over her shoulder at two boys.

Riishi shrugged again. "He'll be fine," she assured. Her mouth curled into a smile when something else occurred to her. "And he won't even complain that it hurt, because I'm a girl now." For some reason, this was getting kind of amusing.

Fuuka didn't seem to know what to think of her choice of words, but allowed the topic to drop all the same. "So um," the girl began, changing the topic. "Are you Riichi-san's sister?" The girl looked down at her in surprise. Fuuka jumped, believing she had somehow insulted her. "Ah no, it's just, I've heard a lot about Riichi-san, but I don't believe I've heard about you Rimi-san."

Riichi nodded lightly and noted the narrowed look Yukari was now giving her. "Well um, I'm not as social as Riichi is," she giggled nervously.

"It's a shame you couldn't meet him, he's a really fun guy."

Riichi stiffened at the hand that patted her shoulder affectionately. Ryouji smiled brightly at them all, apparently having recovered from the earlier assault. "Not that Rimi-chan's presence isn't appreciated." His smile went to land on her. "Actually, she and her brother are very similar to each other."

The girl felt her smile become dryer. Oh shit, so he was noticing after all. That or she was just being really careless.

"Right down to the way they beat you up," Junpei snorted from her other side.

She rounded an offended look on him. "I do _not!_" Catching herself she sobered and fidgeted with the hem of her skirt awkwardly. "I can't speak for Riichi though," the girl finally forced herself to mutter.

Ryouji laughed amiably. "Well, I don't think he's beating me up. It's more like a friendly reminder of my manners."

That wasn't exactly the reason, but she supposed he wasn't really far off. It wasn't his manners she was having a problem with.

"Anyway let's go order," she suggested, feeling awkward in her own skin. "We're taking up space and I'm getting hungry." Without waiting for anyone's agreement, she pushed her way out of the group and scuttled towards the main counter. They all followed after her, and after arguments over what to order and how big a lunch would be good, they grabbed their food and procured themselves a booth—Junpei and Ryouji now much poorer than when they had started that morning. (It was Yukari's idea to make them pay. One that was made out of spite, Riichi was sorry to note. Junpei had been feral, to say the least, but Ryouji had happily jumped at the idea. Even if one of them had been more than happy to pay, she silently promised to pay them back some of the money later.)

"I feel terribly silly now, but I was under the impression that Riichi-san was a girl," Fuuka softly laughed after they had all settled.

Neither Yukari nor Riichi could look at her.

Junpei gave a dry chuckle from his seat at the window. "Well, he's girly, so you're half right."

Ryouji laughed next to him. "I sincerely doubt he'd like to hear that," he chirped. He looked like he was finding this far too amusing though. "I guess he does kind of have a feminine charm to him."

Riichi resisted the urge to pout and instead glared down at her half-eaten burger. "I'll tell him," she threatened under her breath. Ryouji's laugh gained a slight strain.

With a grand sigh Yukari returned the attention back to herself. "Anyways, Riichi's a guy." Her pointed look told the girl in question that she wasn't exactly happy about having to say this next part. "I may have confused him and Rimi here before. You get talking about one and it kind of gets you talking about the other. I think I've started to blend them together in my mind. It's pretty easy to do." That last jab was rather unnecessary, Riichi thought.

Fuuka nodded thoughtfully, before turning her gaze back towards Riichi. "Well, at least I was able to meet you Rimi-san. Please don't think I'm not happy about that."

Riichi couldn't help but smile. "I'm glad I was able to meet you as well," she replied. "Riichi's missing out." Fuuka gave a shy laugh in response.

"Oh, but if Riichi-san's a boy, is he the one I've been hearing about?" The girl's question was greeted with a myriad of confused stares. Fuuka looked slightly embarrassed as she fidgeted. "Well, at our school, there's been a lot of rumors going around lately that a very pretty boy has been seen hanging around with Ryouji-san." Riichi had heard this before. Saori, she thought, was the one who had first mentioned it. "It's actually rather silly, but I've heard a few girls talking about a new one the other day." Riichi felt her expression fall. She could only guess where the rest of this was going. "They said that if you're able to get in good with one, then there's no way the other won't start to like you as well. That way for sure they'll be able to get at least one of your hearts." She gave another gentle laugh and smiled at them. "I just think your brother must be really something, if he's able to get them so serious about this. Of course, if that is your brother that is."

Once again, Riichi couldn't look at her. "Yeah," she finally admitted, completely defeated. "Yeah that's him."

There was a soft laugh next to her and the girl glanced up in aggravation. "Riichi-kun's gotten quite popular while I haven't been looking." Ryouji's look was surprisingly soft. "I'm getting kind of jealous. Maybe I should sabotage him."

Riichi knew that he was getting jealous _of _her and not _because_ of her, but it was still enough to make that odd sensation in her stomach flutter back up. She hoped she wasn't blushing and tried to distract herself with her food.

Yukari must have noticed the change in the girl because she roughly cleared her throat. "Well now that we have lunch out of the way, we're going to get started." She stood up and gently ushered the unsure Fuuka out of the booth. "Since this was originally a girl's day out, we planned to go shopping." Her gaze when she settled it on Junpei and Ryouji was frighteningly sharp. "I hope no one has any complaints." Her look made it impossible for anyone to be brave enough to lodge any had they had them. At the reigning silence Yukari smiled brightly. "Great, now if you two want you can carry our bags for us." With that said, the girl grabbed both Riichi and Fuuka and marched them off with her.

Riichi sent an apologetic look over her shoulder towards Junpei, who looked like he was having a hard time keeping his lunch down. Ryouji merely smiled and waved back at her. She sighed and allowed herself to look back forward. The more time the five of them spent together, the longer the day seemed.

oOo

Yukari hadn't been lying about the shopping. They had probably spent at least an hour in each individual store when they had made it to the mall. Even as a fellow girl Riichi was having a hard time following her enthusiasm. Fuuka, while she didn't seem as excited about it as Yukari, was at least able to keep up with the shopping spree. Riichi and Junpei had found themselves hanging back almost the whole time (when he wasn't being a creep and trying to coax Fuuka to try on certain clothes) and concocting plans to escape that they were too terrified to put into practice. Halfway through Junpei had muttered something about how he was surprised she wasn't as excited about this, to which she had snapped that thanks to a certain someone she had been living as a boy these past few months and it was getting kind of hard to get in touch with her feminine side. He had given her a rather skeptical look, but she had ignored him for the next forty minutes—on top of proceeding to buy about six thousand yen worth of skirts and perfume in spite, to which she immediately regretted afterwards—and then they had made up over laughing at a particularly gaudy outfit that had caught their attention.

Yukari made out like a bandit, and true to her word she had made Junpei carry almost all her stuff. She refrained from allowing Ryouji to carry anything of hers and Fuuka's, probably because the thought of him touching anything of hers was disgusting. Instead, Ryouji had wound up carrying the three bags Riichi had managed to get. She really hadn't had much a say in the matter, since he had insisted so sincerely. It was yet another thing that was making it harder for her to look at him. The thought of having to go back to being a boy and living with him after the break was becoming harder and harder to stomach.

It was about eight by the time they finally stumbled into the club that they ended their night in. Yukari was probably the only one of them thoroughly satisfied with the result but if anyone had any actual complaints they weren't voiced. Fuuka was looking a little green now, probably from not being used to the amount of walking they had endured.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Riichi asked her when they first entered.

The girl smiled sweetly and nodded her assurance. "Oh yes, I'm just a little winded."

"If you want Fuuka-chan, I can carry you home."

Yukari's glare ceased any further attempts Junpei might have made at flirting. "_I'll_ be taking her back to the dorm," the girl announced. "Since I have to go back there anyway."

Junpei's nose curled in distaste. "Yuka-tan's a banshee," he muttered, looking away innocently when her gaze narrowed at him. He didn't, however, make any more cracks that might have been taken as sexual harassment. Instead, the boy threw an arm around Riichi and pulled her towards the back. "Let's just sit down already, I need a drink." After looking at her exhausted expression he snickered. "Looks like you do too."

"Oh shove it," she muttered back. She allowed him to pull her along with him without much of a fight though. The rest of them followed and soon they were seated at one of the tables littering the outskirts of the floor.

Ryouji cleared his throat as he took a seat between Riichi and Fuuka. (Yukari was now eyeing him quite menacingly.) "You seem to know this place quite well," he commented, looking at the three with a gaze that was both expectant and like it wasn't looking for an answer. That smile of his was really good at making people want to respond.

Junpei was the one who finally shrugged and gave in. "It's kind of a local hotspot. They serve alcohol yeah, but they have a lot of shakes and non-alcoholic drinks so a lot of us '_underage kids_' ended up coming here a lot." His mouth twisted into a leer and he set it on Yukari. "Yuka-tan here was actually the one who suggested we come the first time. She wanted to keep up with the trends you know. It kind of became habit."

The girl in question snorted and crossed her arms in aggravation. "Well aren't you the smartass today," she snipped. "I'll have you know a friend recommended it to me. I didn't want you to come anyway. I had originally asked Riichi."

Riichi gave a loud cough as a reminder of her current situation. Yukari didn't seem to notice it, or simply chose to ignore her. Whatever the case she was feeling kind of wronged. "Riichi didn't even want to come," she snapped, slightly irritated by this all now. "But you kept saying it was so great and you really wanted to go, and etcetera, etcetera."

"Don't give me that, you totally wanted to come too," Yukari shot back. "But of course you had to bring Junpei along. I swear, do you two do anything without the other? It's almost like you guys are married."

Junpei gagged and Riichi sneered venomously. "That's disgusting!" they both shouted in unison.

"P-please don't fight!" The bickering was temporarily halted by Fuuka's quiet cry. When she noticed they were all staring at her now, she gasped as if she hadn't realized she had spoken out loud, and then looked away.

There was a soft chuckle out of Ryouji before he patted her shoulder. "It's alright," he assured her. "This just shows how close they are."

Riichi heard a muffled thump and next to her Junpei sucked in a sharp breath. She instinctively tucked her legs under her seat, even as Yukari focused a sweet smile on Fuuka. "Sorry about that. After you get close to someone it just comes naturally that you fight like that." She giggled and the naturalness of it all put Fuuka at ease again.

"Devil woman, you devil woman," Junpei practically sobbed under his breath. Riichi allowed herself to reach over and pat his hand in a gesture that she hoped was comforting. She didn't want to be too obvious though in case Yukari decided to direct her wrath at her next.

The smallest girl cleared her throat and put on a weak smile. "I'm sorry I raised my voice," she apologized. The group wasn't sure how to respond to that since her 'raised voice' had been pretty hard to hear. Her smile gained a bit of strength as she continued speaking. "I've never had friends close enough to be able to fight with like that. It was very new for me."

Yukari was the first to speak up this time. She sighed and gave an almost exhausted shrug. "Well, I don't know if we're as close as you think, but well, I guess they are pretty good friends."

That was enough for Junpei's mouth to curl like a cat's. "What's this I hear?" he goaded. Yukari's nose curled as he leaned forward to get closer to her. "Did you just admit to actually liking me?" The boy leaned back before she had a chance to take a whack at him, (It was probably extremely lucky for him that there was an extra chair between him and Yukari.) and took this time to nudge Riichi in the ribs. "You hear that?" he continued. "I knew deep down Yuka-tan had a soft spot for me."

Riichi had to bow her head in order to try and hide her laughter. Even after she covered her mouth with her hand though it was pretty obvious what was going on. Yukari growled at the both of them, her eyes flaring dangerously. "It has to be my manly charm," the boy carried on. Riichi's shoulders began to visibly shake. "You know, someone as charming as me was bound to make even Yuka-tan fall eventually."

"Who the hell fell for you?" Yukari, apparently not being able to take it anymore, snarled across the table at the boy. Her glare kept moving from Junpei to Riichi—who by now had bent over so far that her forehead was almost touching the table—and back. "And you shut up!" Her snarling only furthered Riichi's muffled laughter.

Junpei wasn't moved at all by the girl's fury. Instead, he shrugged and once more tried to nudge the girl at his side in the ribs. "I told you Yuka-tan was the tsundere type."

Ryouji cleared his throat in an attempt to gain attention. "Junpei-kun, if you keep talking I don't think Rimi-san is going to be able to breathe." His worries were completely ignored, and if anything Junpei just got louder.

"So I guess that means she's so violent because she's madly in love with me." He sighed and made a grand show of shrugging his shoulders. "I tell ya, it's hard being such a sexy catch."

By now Riichi was laughing so hard that she had to clutch the edges of the table in order to keep a semi-hold over herself. It obviously wasn't doing her much good because after a few minutes it was hard to tell if she was laughing or crying. "I-I can't breathe…" she gasped between her chuckles. "God, Junpei shut up, please shut up!" She howled again as he gave her another nudge and winked suggestively. "_Please_! I'll give you fifty yen!"

Apparently taking offense to this, Junpei turned a rather skeptical look at her. "Fifty yen? You think I'm that cheap?" He huffed and turned towards Yukari. "Can you believe this girl? Everything I've done for her and all I'm worth is a measly fifty yen."

"You'd be lucky to be worth five yen," she snarled back. "Why don't you grow a brain in that stupid head of yours and then we'll talk, alright Stupei?"

Junpei narrowed his eyes at her. "I told you to stop calling me that!" he growled.

As they were locked in their glaring match and Riichi was still trying desperately to recover from her laughing fit, Ryouji managed to flag down a waiter. "Can we maybe get some water?" he asked, apology laced in his voice. The waiter, a boy of probably nineteen, spared Riichi a nervous glance before nodding and scurrying off.

"He must be new." Ryouji looked up from his task of rubbing Riichi's back soothingly and gazed at Fuuka. When the girl noticed his attention was on her she jumped lightly and gave an embarrassed giggle. "Oh, well, he was awfully nervous. It just looked as if he wasn't used to the work yet."

The boy smiled at her. "You're very perceptive Fuuka-san," he praised, chuckling lightly when she flushed in response. "That's an admirable trait in someone our age."

She shook her head, soft smile in place with the alleviation of her embarrassment. "Oh no, it's not that great. I think it's natural to be aware of one's surroundings to a certain extent."

"Hey, stop flirting with her!" The two looked up to meet Yukari's livid expression. The girl had apparently found their short bonding session to be more important than bickering with Junpei. "I will _not_ allow you to use her like all those other girls."

Ryouji, for his part, looked honestly hurt. "Pardon?" he began, voice slightly strained. "I would never 'use' a girl. Does my behavior come off as such?"

Yukari was about to snarl out a reply when Riichi spoke up. "Don't tease him Yukari," the girl croaked. She raised herself from her bent position and stared pleadingly at the other girl. "He's pure." She ended her explanation there, as if that was all that needed to be said to convey everything, and went back to trying to catch the rest of her breath.

"Psh, already coming to his rescue," Junpei snorted and leaned back in his chair. "If anyone here's married it would be the two of you."

Ryouji laughed amiably as he went back to rubbing Riichi's back. "I'm flattered, truly. I don't think Riichi-kun would be all that pleased with that though."

It was Yukari's turn to scoff. "Unfortunately I think he'd be fine with it," she snarled under her breath. With that said she returned her attention to Fuuka. "Don't let him try anything with you okay. He's bad news." She reached over and grasped the girl's chair, and then proceeded to try and drag it closer to herself and thus farther away from the boy. Fuuka gasped in surprise, but otherwise allowed the girl to manhandle her chair without much fight.

"Um, I brought your drinks."

Those who weren't otherwise preoccupied (in other words, everyone but Riichi) looked up at the presence of the waiter from earlier. The boy gave a shaky smile as he lowered the tray of drinks. Yukari narrowed her eyes in confusion. "But we didn't order any-"

"Oh thank god," Riichi croaked before the other girl was able to finish her sentence. Without so much as pausing to evaluate what she was grabbing, the girl snatched the closest drink to her and guzzled it. The others, including the waiter, stared at her in stunned amazement. When she had gotten halfway done with it the girl pulled the glass away and came up choking. Before either of the boys at her side could do anything she gave one last cough and sighed. "That felt good."

"That's what happens when you guzzle it, you idiot," Junpei snorted, his concern alleviated by the satisfied expression she was now wearing.

Riichi merely shrugged and took a moment to examine the contents of her glass. "It tastes kind of fruity," she said, taking another sip in order to make sure of it.

The waiter's face flushed. "Oh no, you're not table four are you, oh no…"

"I tried to say we didn't order anything," Yukari snorted. But since the damage had already been done she didn't seem all that concerned. "Whatever I guess. She'll just pay it for."

The boy nodded vigorously. Just as he was about to walk away he paused and turned back to face them. "Um," he began, waiting until Riichi had looked up in acknowledgment. "You don't happen to be over twenty do you?"

Riichi gave him a confused look, but shook her head in the negative anyways. "Why?"

The waiter paled. Junpei was the first to get it. "You have got to be shitting me," he muttered.

The boy's reaction brought the other two girls up to speed, and while Fuuka presented a worried, '_Oh dear,_' Yukari began spitting fire. "You let a minor drink!" she snarled. The waiter cowered, taking a step backwards in order to put some distance between them. "What the hell were you thinking? I can have your job for this."

"Yukari-san, I don't think you need to go that far," Ryouji tried to placate the girl.

Yukari wheeled on him, eyes blazing. "You seriously think it's perfectly fine?"

The boy winced. "I didn't say that," he laughed weakly.

"It's fine, it actually kind of tastes good." The group was once more thrown into silence by the dark brunette. Riichi greeted their stares by taking another long sip of the drink. "It tastes kind of like one of those sparkling juices," she informed them.

Junpei pried the glass out of her fingers and took his own drink. "You're right; it's kind of like mango strawberry or something."

"Isn't it?" the girl giggled lightly and reached for it again.

Yukari extracted it before either of them could take another sip and thrust it back angrily at the waiter. The poor boy took it with shaking fingers. "No one is drinking anymore of it," she ordered. The pair's expressions were now reminiscent of a child whose new toy was taken away.

"Party pooper," Junpei muttered and made of show of ignoring Yukari's vehement glare.

The waiter cleared his throat nervously. "Um, if we could not say anything about this," he nervously stuttered. "I'm truly sorry, it's my second day, and I really need this job!" He bowed as low as he could while still holding a tray full of drinks. "I'm begging you! I won't make you pay for it!"

Yukari gazed at him with an unrelenting glare. Ryouji laughed, nervous as well under the girl's stare, and tried to give the boy a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "No harm done," he assured. "It's hard starting out, we understand."

When the boy straightened back up, he was gazing at Ryouji in awestruck gratitude. "You have no idea how much this means to me." With that said he turned back around and scurried off.

"That was, a little strange," Fuuka murmured.

Yukari leaned back angrily in her seat. "I can't believe you just let him off like that. The nerve of some people." She huffed girlishly, further displaying how displeased she was with the whole thing.

Riichi gave a grand sigh and shrugged her shoulders. "You worry too much," she scolded the girl. "It wasn't even a whole glass. Think of it as…" she paused and tapped her chin in thought. "An adventure?"

The brunette cocked an unamused eyebrow. "What?" she ventured.

"You know," the girl bent over to get closer to Yukari. "An adventure. Something new. Like the feeling of finding something you're not supposed to. Like when Junpei found my panties that one time!" She cackled loudly. "He couldn't look at me for a week!"

"I thought we'd promised never to mention that again!" the boy growled.

Ryouji raised a worried arm to place on her shoulder, and then thought better about it and placed his hand back in his lap. "Um, Rimi-chan, are you alright?"

Riichi moved her gaze to the boy. "Oh I'm fine," she beamed at him. "I've never felt better!" With another giggle she began to rock energetically.

Fuuka placed a hand over her mouth before leaning over towards Yukari. "You don't think she's um," she faltered, finding herself unable to look at either of the girls.

"Oh yeah," Yukari sighed. "She's drunk alright."

Junpei snorted and glared at the giggling girl. "You can't seriously be that much of a lightweight," he protested. "I mean, come on! Who gets drunk over half a glass of some mango, fruity thing?"

"Apparently Riichi does," Yukari snorted.

"Rimi," Junpei corrected her, though the real reason for the cover-up didn't seem to really be paying attention at the moment. In fact Ryouji looked torn between being amused and trying to tend to the drunken girl.

Riichi pumped an arm before she threw it out in order to point her finger at Fuuka. The girl yelped in surprise. "Fuu-nya," she began, making the girl jump again and then peer at her in confused disbelief. "You know, you're really cute. Like, I bet you're one of those girls who is prim and proper all the time, and who makes boxed lunches for all their friends and is sweet to everyone they meet so all the boys think you're the cutest." She leaned across the table to get a closer look at the girl. "And I bet you like really cute things too. I'm jealous, so jealous. You should trade places with me."

Fuuka was now so flustered she was having trouble forming coherent thoughts. "I-I um, well I, can't exactly cook," she finally managed out. "And um, Rimi-san, I think you're very pretty yourself. I don't see why y-you would be jealous over me."

The girl waved her words away without a thought. "Doesn't matter," she announced. "You're cute enough to get a man to cook for you. And I bet your boobs are huge too." Fuuka now was incapable of saying anything. "Another plus in the cute scale. Do you know what Junpei told me? He said I was flat, a board. Isn't that mean?" The short haired girl nodded mechanically, not really seeming to know what else to do. "I don't think I'm that flat. What do you think?" Riichi grabbed one of the girl's arms and moved to place it on her chest.

"That's enough of that!" Junpei shot up and snatched the drunken girl at the same time that Yukari desperately grabbed Fuuka's arms. Riichi giggled madly as he pulled her back and forced her back down in her chair. "Are you insane," he hissed at her when she was finally settled.

She giggled again and stuck her tongue out at him. "Is Junpicchi jealous?" she cooed.

"Junpicchi?"

The girl placed a hand at the top of her bust and grinned coyly up at him. "Aww, does poor Junpicchi not want someone else to touch my breasts before he does?" The boy's nostrils flared as she subtly pushed her chest up. After being sure that she had him riled up the girl curled back into herself and hid her chest with her arms. "Well too bad, no touching for you."

While Junpei shouted threats and profanity Ryouji placed a gentle hand on her shoulders and gently pulled her away from the boy. "Rimi-san, we should probably get you home now," he coaxed.

The girl turned and for a minute all she did was gaze up at his friendly smile. Finally she parted her lips and spoke, "You know, you talk in your sleep." Ryouji's expression fell and he looked torn between being embarrassed and confused. Riichi's lips curled. "It's really cute. You talk a lot about promising to meet someone. Could that be your little first love?"

The boy didn't seem to notice that she had moved to get closer to him. He did flush scarlet though and gazed at her in horror. "How-how do you know about that?"

"Silly. You told m-"

"Oh that Riichi!" Junpei yelled, laughing nervously as he slapped a hand over the girl's mouth to silence her. "He must get quite a kick out of telling his sister embarrassing things about you!" He accompanied this with another forced guffaw.

Ryouji still didn't look too sure of this explanation, but any further questions were silenced when Riichi licked Junpei's palm. The boy yelped and tore his hand away from her. "W-what was that!" he shouted, horrified gaze switching between the girl and his wet palm.

"You shouldn't assault a girl like that," she responded, her tone surprisingly matter-of-fact for her current state. "I'm gonna tell on you," she sang as she pulled her phone out of her skirt pocket and after unlocking it, dialed.

Junpei's look of horror melted into one of exasperated confusion. "Tell who?" he demanded, though his tone was much more pleading than anything.

Riichi ignored him and placed the phone by her ear. "Who's she calling?" Yukari whispered, looking at both boys for an answer. Junpei gave an aggravated shrug of his shoulders and Ryouji, who still seemed distracted from earlier, shook his head slightly. "Well shouldn't we stop her? She's obviously in no state to be calling someone!"

At the click of the receiver Riichi bit her lip giddily and the rest of the table's plans for taking the phone away from her were foiled. "This better be good," the gruff voice on the other end snorted. "I told you not to call unless it was an emergency."

"Shinji-senpai!" the girl sang. At the name, Ryouji jumped and Junpei paled.

"She knows Aragaki-senpai as well?" the raven-haired boy inquired. Junpei was far too horrified to be able to answer him.

Riichi's lips curled slyly. "What are you wearing?" she cooed into the phone.

There was pause and then Shinjirou growled, "What the hell?"

Riichi giggled and rocked back in her chair. "You were gonna answer weren't you?" she laughed. "Don't deny it senpai, you wanted to!"

"Who is she talking to?" Yukari demanded, this time more forcefully. Fuuka was now looking as if the whole situation was leaving her worse-for-wear.

"Are you drunk?" the voice on the phone asked.

The girl giggled again and shook her head. "Me? Of course not. I'm a good girl, I pinky swear!" She held her hand up, pinky posed in ready for the promised swear. "Oh yeah, I was calling to tattle." Remembering the reason for her phone call the girl lowered her arm in order to use it to shield her chest. "Junpicchi says that he won't leave tonight until he gets a good feel of my breasts." She turned away from Junpei's frightened protests and sought shelter from a confused and distracted Ryouji as she continued her call. Ryouji, in his current state, wasn't really much help.

"What?" Shinjirou's exhausted growls had turned into snarling. "Where are you and who are you with?"

As if forgetting how she had gotten here, Riichi looked up and examined both her surroundings and the people in their group. "Junpicchi, Yuka-nee, Fuu-nya, oh and Ryou-chan!" she ticked off her fingers as she listed them, face brightening at the end.

"Ryou? That Mochizuki kid?"

She nodded energetically, looking up to give a wink to the boy in question. "Yup, he's right here." Taking another look around the girl was pleased to announce, "And we're at the club on Main Street. The one with the sparkly mutli-colored sign."

Even with her completely worthless description of her location, Shinjirou still seemed to have enough information to go on. "Why the hell are you with him drunk? Damn idiot. Don't you dare move; I'll be there in thirty minutes." With that said he cut the call.

Riichi pulled her phone away and stared at it as if it were a foreign object. After a few moments of silence she looked up at Junpei and simply said, "He hung up."

The boy took on a pained expression. "What the hell were you thinking?" he wheezed. "Never mind why you called him in the first place, why'd you tell him I was trying to grope you?" He waved an aggravated hand at her. "Who would want to touch your flat chest anyway?"

She at least had enough sense left to be offended at that. Riichi covered herself with her arms and backed away from the boy. "Stupei!" Yukari snarled. "What kind of an idiot are you!"

He glared back at the girl. "What are you talking about? Do you understand what she probably just did to me?"

"I don't care!" Yukari continued to hiss. "That was totally uncalled for! Apologize!"

Even Fuuka was looking slightly offended. "Junpei-san, you really shouldn't have said that," she scolded lightly. "You hurt poor Rimi-san's feelings."

This all had apparently been enough to bring Ryouji out of his earlier stupor and he was now staring disapprovingly at Junpei. "You should never tell a lady something like that," he lectured. "It doesn't matter how mad you are, insulting a girl in such a way is disgraceful as a man."

Junpei chose Ryouji to focus his glare on. "Whose side are you on?" he snarled. "She's probably got Aragaki sharpening knives for me now! I am entitled to my rage!" Ryouji's disapproving glare didn't even so much as twitch.

"I bet Ryou-chan wants to touch them."

The group all stopped glaring in order to stare at the silent girl. Her eyes seething, Riichi focused her gaze on Junpei. "I'm sure he thinks they're nice!"

Before anyone had a chance to do anything about it, Riichi snatched one of Ryouji's arms and placed his hand firmly on her left breast. The table went completely still.

When it had settled in, several different things happened at once. Fuuka flushed scarlet and buried her face in her hands. Yukari snarled profanities at Ryouji and reached over to extract his hand from Riichi's chest. Junpei attempted to pull the girl away, then thought better about touching her and found himself deciding that he was just going to sit back think that this was an amusing story to save for later. Ryouji didn't move. He was staring down at his hand as if he had never seen it before in his life.

By the time Yukari had finally managed to separate the two, Ryouji was still in a daze and Riichi had gone back to glaring at Junpei. "See!" the girl cried. "He liked it so much he can't even speak."

"I don't really think that's why," Junpei chuckled. "You probably gave Yuka-tan a heart attack though."

The girl in question hissed. "Are you an idiot? How could you let him do that to you?" She had managed to get out of her chair and circled the table, and was now fussing around Riichi like a mother hen. "And you!" Yukari focused her glare on Ryouji, which was enough to at least get the boy to stop staring at his palm and look up at her in surprise. "How dare you touch her! Don't you have any shame?"

Ryouji blinked a few times before opening his mouth. "I-That wasn't my intention, I didn't…" He trailed off, not entirely sure where he was going with that.

Riichi pouted. "Leave him alone," she whined. "You're just mad he didn't touch yours." While Yukari was furiously assuring the girl that that was definitely _not_ the reason for her anger, Riichi turned back towards the boy and smiled brightly at him. "Ryou-chan, if you want to touch it again you're allowed to. Whenever I'm a girl that is." She giggled as the boy's face heated up. Much to Yukari's and Junpei's amazement, he didn't appear to have caught the tail end of that statement.

"That's enough of that." Yukari snapped, effectively putting an end to the whole subject. "We're going home. Obviously you can't be here anymore." She heaved the girl out of her chair and tried to stead y Riichi as she wobbled dangerously. "Junpei could you please help," Yukari pleaded, when it was obvious that there was no way she was going to be able to support the girl all the way back to her house.

Junpei groaned and stood up. "Come on," he sighed as he grabbed Riichi's waist and looped her arm around his shoulders. "You owe me for this I hope you know."

Upon realizing who it was that was now supporting her, Riichi began to struggle. "No," she moaned. "I want Ryou-chan to carry me!" It was obvious that the drink was wearing off because her movements were becoming sluggish, and her struggling could hardly be called such.

Junpei grunted as he avoided being elbowed in the neck and attempted to haul her away from the table. "Rii, I really don't think that would be in either of your best interests at the moment. How about next time?" The girl moaned in protest again. She attempted to get him to drop her by refusing to move her feet, but all that really did was make the boy grunt in exasperation and have to drag her. "You'll thank me for this later, I promise you. So would you stop making this hard!" The girl refused to respond.

Yukari helped Fuuka out of her chair and was now frantically apologizing to her as they walked. "I'm so sorry for all of this. None of this was supposed to happen, and I swear it'll never happen again." Fuuka kept trying to assure the girl it was alright, but the fact that she still couldn't look at Riichi wasn't really helping Yukari believe her.

Ryouji had shakily stood up as well. He followed the rest of the group, keeping a safe distance from Riichi and honestly looking as though he had no idea what to do with himself. Junpei kind of felt sorry for the boy at the moment. Being forced to molest someone who looked like your roommate—a rather drunken one at that—probably wasn't something that was easy to wrap your mind around.

By the time they had finally managed to make their way out of the club, Junpei was so preoccupied with trying to force Riichi to actually cooperate and walk that he wasn't paying attention to what was in front of him. When he bumped into something rather solid the boy was irritated enough that he growled at it. "Watch where you're going buddy!" he snarled. Whatever else he was going to say was lost before it could leave his lips when he looked up and realized just who he had knocked into.

Shinjirou didn't seem to mind Junpei's blatant rudeness, but he was eyeing the girl lolling about on his shoulder with narrowed eyes. The boy held out an arm in an unspoken demand. When Junpei did nothing but gaze at him in fear he sighed. "Give me the kid."

Junpei pointed a finger at the girl in his arms. "This?" he asked, slightly afraid of the answer. Shinjirou held out his arm further in affirmation. Junpei took a hesitant step back and gave a shaky laugh. "Um, no offense senpai, but I don't think that's a good idea right now. We're taking her home anyway."

The senior's glare sharpened. "Iori," he growled. "She called me while obviously drunk, told me some shit about being groped-" in the back of the group Ryouji flinched, "and couldn't even remember who the hell she was with. She asked me what I was wearing." His arm extended yet again. "Give me the kid. I don't give a damn if you're taking her to Barcelona—obviously she's not in good hands."

Yukari pushed her way in between him and the duo. "And who are you?" she demanded. "You think I'm going to allow some stranger to take away my friend?"

Shinjirou met her glare with one of his own. "Believe me, there is nothing I would like better than to leave her here and stay out of this shit. But the kid brought me into this on her own, and after listening to her I doubt leaving her with you guys is going to end well." His eyes flicked towards the back of the group, than to Junpei, and back to Yukari. "Now, give me the kid so I can go back home already."

Junpei's horror only intensified. "You mean you live around here?" he all but sobbed.

"The dorm, back to the dorm. If I lived here I would have been here sooner." The senior rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Screw this shit, I'm taking her." With that said he roughly pushed past Yukari—ignoring her heated snarls—and grabbed Riichi by the wrist.

The girl lolled forward and fell onto his arm. Shinjirou sighed and hoisted her up onto his shoulder where she lazily scrambled to get a better grip on him. "Senpai," she slurred in what might have been an attempt at singing. "You're late. You said three minutes."

"I said thirty dumbass," he snorted. There wasn't any animosity in his tone though. The boy went to turn away, thought better of it, then turned back to focus his gaze on Ryouji. "You should probably stay away from her," he warned. Ryouji narrowed his eyes in reply, somewhat confused and a little wary. "It'd be best for you and your roommate." The boy's eyes now widened in his furthered surprise. Shinjirou took this time to turn back to Junpei and once more glared at the boy. "Do a better job of watching out for her. I'd really rather not be getting drunken calls late at night." With that he had said everything he needed to and began walking away without so much as a backward glance.

About four miles down the road he remembered that he had no idea where she lived.

"Hey Riichi," he grunted. The girl shifted in response. "Where am I taking you?"

She moaned softly and snuggled closer to him. "Home," she mumbled.

The boy sighed, beyond exasperated at this point. "Where's home?" he prodded.

Riichi gave a half-shrug. "I'unno," she continued to mumble. "Home."

"I should just drop you on the sidewalk," he growled under his breath. "Riichi, I'm not carting you around all damn night. Where is your house?" All he got in response was a myriad of slurs about Ryouji's eating habits and that cross-dressing was hard to keep up with. "Damn it, give me your phone." He hadn't wanted to do this, especially not after having practically stolen her from them, but he was going to need to get in touch with Iori. Since _he_ certainly didn't have the guy's number he was going to have to rely on her for this one. After managing to coerce a muttered '_pocket_' out of the girl the boy managed to find the fold in her skirt that was the elusive pocket. An awkward attempt at fishing around in it without touching her inappropriately—because honestly, feeling up a passed-out drunk who kind of reminded you of your childhood friend wasn't exactly his idea of a good time—had him emerge victorious with the phone.

Shinjirou flipped open the object and cursed darkly. "Of course it is," he snarled. "What's your password?" The girl did nothing more than shift and mumble something. "Kid. Riichi! What's the passcode to your phone." This time he didn't even get a mumble as a response. "You have got to be shitting me. Wake up and tell me your damn password. I am _not_ taking you back to the dorm like this you hear me? If you don't want to wake up in a dumpster you're helping me get you home." It wasn't long before it was painfully obvious that the girl was not going to wake up in the near future.

With an exhausted groan, Shinjirou was forced to concede that tonight was just not his night.


	9. Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn

_Mmkay, I have to address some concerns. My intention was not a love triangle. There will not be one, as like I said before I lack the time and attention-span to actually write a decent one. But even with that I am not going to write anyone out of the story. I like growing relationships between people, and that's not just limited to romantic ones. I think the interaction between characters is what makes the story, and as such that's what's going to happen as this one progresses. As for the relationship between Riichi and Ryouji, as **Harmoniche** very well put it, this is an AU. The two just haven't had enough time to get to that level of affection yet. Writing them in love at this point would, to me, feel forced and awkward. With that said, I am in this for the long haul, as I had planned on making this into a longer story. I'm sorry if I have offended anyone with this, but I hope this clears things up a bit._

_On to happier news, can anyone say quick update? I'm rather proud of myself for this. And as a sneak peek, Kendo-kun hits the stage next chapter._

* * *

**_Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn_**

Riichi woke up with no idea where she was, and no recollection of the events that had undoubtedly brought her here. She was aware though, that she was definitely a lot more worn out than she normally was upon rousing, and that wherever she was, there was at least a bed. The girl moaned into the comforter and attempted to roll over and pick herself up. Unfortunately that wasn't working out very well for her.

"'Bout time."

Riichi managed to maneuver her neck to allow herself sight of whoever had addressed her. She couldn't say she wasn't surprised when Shinjirou was what greeted her. "Where am I?" she managed to croak, once again attempting to pull herself up. It seemed more important at the moment to figure out where she was then why the senior was with her. She managed to get up on her elbows before she found she couldn't move anymore.

"My room," the boy snorted. He rolled his eyes at her confused gaze and returned to eating his ramen. "I couldn't get you home last night, so I had to bring you back to the dorm." Satisfied with his explanation he refused to say anymore.

The girl's confusion deepened. Before asking why, she opened her mouth to inquire, "Do my parents know?"

He shrugged. "I told the guy on night duty to call them and say their kid was staying here. Whether or not they got the message is not my problem."

She still didn't seem to understand what was going on. "Where's everyone else?" she slurred after taking another quick look around the room.

The boy made a face at her. "You think I'd let them all crash in my room?" He snorted, as if the mere thought of that were completely asinine. "You're lucky you're here. I was originally going to leave you out on the street."

"How kind," she grumbled back. Deciding that was all she wanted to know at the moment, the girl returned to trying to get up. She grunted as she was successful in rolling onto her side and pushing herself up into a seated position. It was at this time though that dizziness overcame her and Riichi found herself once again unable to move any further. God her head was killing her.

Though she couldn't see it, Shinjirou raised an eyebrow at her. "That's what happens when you get smashed," he snorted.

Riichi peered up at him from slanted eyes. "What?" she demanded, rather weakly at that. "I got drunk?" The boy's only response was a bored nod. Riichi groaned and buried her head in her hands. "Oh my god. I don't even remember what happened." Shit, she had still been with Ryouji when the memories began to get hazy. What if she had done something stupid? "Why do you know any of this?" she finally managed to settle on. It was better to at least learn what you could.

"You called me," was his blunt response.

The girl groaned again. "Seriously?" It was a rhetorical question though, and he seemed to understand because he didn't answer. "Shit, how out of it was I?"

He sighed, and even in her condition she could tell it was a chore for him to remember it. "You weren't doing anything for your maturity let's just go with that." For a moment her groaning sounded almost like sobbing. "Has anyone told you that you mumble in your sleep by the way?"

Riichi shook her head and stared at him skeptically. "No. I have never been told that, and I've lived with a lot of different people."

Shinjirou gave her a strange look at that last part, but she didn't have the time or energy to care about whether or not he found out about her family situation. "It was probably the drink then. You kept muttering something about how that Mochizuki guy eats too many snacks or whatever. You also mentioned some chick named Atsuko a couple times."

That name got her full attention. "Atsuko?" she parroted. The mention of the woman's name brought back something else. "Oh shit!" Ignoring the throbbing that was still assaulting her head, the girl rolled completely off the bed. "Time, time, what's the time," she muttered as she frantically tried to locate a clock and find her phone at the same time.

It was obvious that the boy was finding this amusing. "It's eleven-thirty," he announced when he had gotten his fill of seeing her whirl around like a lunatic. "And your phone's there."

Riichi looked at where his finger was pointed and snatched her phone off his desk. "Shit, I'm late. I'm going to be late. I'm probably late already." Okay so maybe she wasn't going to be too late. It was about an hour and forty minute train ride, she needed to be there at two. If she sprinted to the Shinkansen and then sprinted when she got off maybe she could cut it really close. Temporarily satisfied with her hasty calculations, the girl fussed around the room, trying to find her shoes and simultaneously trying to remember if she had been carrying anything else that was no longer on her person. A few minutes into her search she let out a strangled roar and whirled back around to face Shinjirou. "_Please_ tell me you have some painkillers," she pleaded.

He jabbed an unconcerned finger over his shoulder and towards his bathroom. "Top shelf of the medicine cabinet," he informed her. She rushed past him with a relieved '_thank you_' and soon the sounds of her hastily rummaging through his cabinet filled the air. There was a crash that was unmistakably the contents of the cabinet falling to the floor, and the boy found himself groaning and wondering why the hell he hadn't just thrown her out as soon as she had woken up.

When Riichi reemerged she obviously still wasn't fine, but at least she looked slightly better than the mess she had been minutes earlier. "Um," she stammered, refusing to meet his eyes. "Thanks for last night, and you know, putting up with my….well whatever I did." Shinjirou grunted, feeling as awkward now as she was at the appreciation. "And sorry for taking up your bed."

His glare told her he thought she was retarded. "You were on the floor most of the night," he informed her.

Riichi's expression became unveiled shock. "Wait what! You threw a drunk person on the floor all night?" To say she was slightly miffed was an understatement.

The boy snorted. "Why would I let a drunken punk take my bed? The only reason I moved you to it was because you were in the way on the floor."

The girl narrowed her eyes at him. "You're a jerk sometimes Senpai," she sniffed. He made it quite clear that he really didn't give a shit what she thought. "But since I'm a nice person I'm going to forgive you." As if just remembering her earlier fright she made a hasty beeline towards the door. "Sorry to just run but I really, really have to go now. I'll see you later Senpai, have a nice break!"

The boy growled under his breath that his break would have been nicer if it hadn't involved drunken chicks and his needing to cover for them. But he still managed to shout a gruff, "Don't call me again!" after her.

oOo

So she was in yesterday's clothes, still had a killer headache, and probably didn't exactly smell fresh—she certainly didn't feel it anyway. But Riichi really didn't have much of a choice in the manner of her presentation and decided that at least she was going to arrive at a time that wasn't horrifically late. It was about the only thing she had going for her right now.

Riichi ran her hands through her bangs, wondering if she should have taken the extra time to stand in front of Shinjirou's bathroom mirror and pin her hair back in place. As it stood, her signature bobby pins—less so now that she spent most of her time as a boy—had joined her phone in the fold of her skirt pocket. One of the few good things of cross-dressing as a boy was that at least her wig was short and required minimum upkeep. She was kind of wishing she had it right now actually. The girl sighed and told herself that no matter her feelings she was going to have to deal. Atsuko and the kids never really cared how she looked when she presented herself to them as long as she was decent. Decent was probably the only compliment she would receive in this state.

The train slowed to a stop and Riichi joined the throngs of people as they exited to the platform. She was only fifteen minutes late, and the walk to the orphanage was about ten minutes. She was okay; it wasn't going to be a huge deal like she had originally thought it would be. That was until she felt her phone vibrating and all her hopes of getting to the orphanage undisturbed crashed around her.

"Hello?" she answered timidly after reassuring herself of who the caller was.

"Riichi-chan, are you alright? You weren't in an accident were you? Please don't tell me it involved cars, or buses, or anything with wheels! You're never this late, something must have happened!"

The girl laughed nervously. "Um, Atsuko, it's okay. I promise I'm alright. I just got a little held up."

The woman in charge of the orphanage wasn't normally a worrier. In fact if anything, since the day she'd met her Atsuko had proven to Riichi that she believed in children learning for themselves. That meant that any act of stupidity, unless it was clearly dangerous, was allowed, and when the child came crying to her later she welcomed them with warm arms and explained the reason why whatever they had done was a bad idea. It wasn't unkind at all. Atsuko's ways had always fostered a feeling of healthy independence in her charges. But for some reason when it came to Riichi and the possibility of an accident she had always been more than frantic. The girl wasn't sure why, but she chalked it up as the part of her past that she couldn't remember. A past before hospital wards and Atsuko and a life of jumping foster homes.

"Oh, okay," the voice on the phone began to calm down. "I'm sorry, it's just very rare for you to be late. I got a little worried."

Riichi chuckled amiably and refrained from commenting on how 'little' her 'little' really was. "I'm almost there. I'll see you in a few minutes." Atsuko gave her consent and Riichi cut the call with the shutting of her phone. The girl gave a long sigh. Now there was no fooling herself that she wasn't going to be in for a particularly warm welcome. She just hoped that Atsuko became convinced of her wellbeing quickly.

Exactly how she feared, when the girl opened the door to the orphanage there was an exultant cry and she was immediately pulled into an embrace.

"Riichi you're here, you're safe."

The girl croaked in response before managing to breathe out a, "Yes, I'm fine."

When the woman finally released her, she went to fussing about the girl and refused to stop until she was positive that nothing had happened. After her evaluation was proven satisfactory, Atsuko took Riichi by the hand and gently pulled her further into the building. "Welcome dear, it's been such a long time since you've shown your face."

With the woman's reversion to her normal temperament, Riichi found herself relaxing. "Sorry about that," she apologized, genuinely sincere. "I've had a really hectic schedule these past few months." She chuckled dryly, thinking to herself that 'hectic' was far too polite a word for how the last months had been. "Anyway, how's the place been?"

Atsuko's eyes wandered towards the ceiling in thought. "Not much has really changed. You think too highly of me if you believe that I can invoke the kind of change worth talking about in this amount of time." She grinned at Riichi's cocked eyebrow. "But other than that, I've managed to find about four children permanent homes since you've been gone."

Riichi's eyes widened in surprise and awe. "Wow. And you're sure they're permanent?"

The woman's lips curled further. "Of course. Other than you, I've managed to find every child in this establishment a permanent home."

"I wouldn't say I'm the only one," Riichi muttered under her breath. Those three weren't people she really wanted to dwell on though.

Atsuko seemed to realize what was going on in her head because she said no more on the subject. "Anyways, I have something of yours here." They had reached the dining hall by now, a long room that resembled an old wooden cafeteria—one that could fit about fifteen kids anyway—that opened up into the small kitchen. Atsuko motioned for the girl to sit down on one of the wooden benches while she glided into the kitchen and reached up into a cupboard.

Her interest piqued, Riichi sat down and watched the woman with hawk-like eyes. "Really? What is it?"

"Patience," the woman clucked, her tone filled with mirth. "Ah, here it is." She pulled out a pale blue envelope and walked over to present it to the girl. "I would have sent it, but seeing as you were visiting so soon I figured it would be silly not to keep it and just give it to you here."

Riichi giddily took the letter. She examined the weight and thickness of it before placing it in her lap with the full intention of reading it as soon as her visit was over. Atsuko regarded the girl with amused eyes. "Thank you, I've been waiting for this. I figured it was coming soon."

The woman shrugged kindly. "These things do take time," she replied. "I find it rather cute that you two are still sending them though."

Now this was something Riichi hadn't been expecting. The girl narrowed her eyes in confusion. "What are you talking about? Why wouldn't we still be sending them?"

It was Atsuko's turn to be confused. "Wouldn't it be easier to simply talk to each other?" she asked. When Riichi's confusion did nothing more than turn to bewilderment, Atsuko continued with, "Well, you two know each other don't you? I mean personally now." The girl shook her head in the negative. "You're sending letters from the same place."

Riichi found she couldn't exactly swallow this new revelation. "You mean," she breathed. "That we're going to the same school?"

The woman nodded. "Yes. I was a little surprised when I read the name of it though. I had been under the impression that that particular school only accepted boys."

Riichi wasn't listening anymore. She was too busy trying to put two and two together. If the letters were coming from her school, than that meant whoever was sending them was a classmate. And if they were actually coming from the _school_, then not only did they attend classes together, but Pharos was also her dorm mate. In a way they were living together, and she hadn't the slightest idea that it was so.

_That means he's close_.

The girl flushed brightly. Her hands, which had been clutching the letter tightly, brought it up to hide the bottom part of her face. Pharos was close. There was even a good chance that she actually knew him. This idea both excited and scared her. What would she do if they were actually close friends? Her mouth curled in a girlish smile and all at once she felt that she had never wanted to scream out in excitement as much as she did this moment.

But then something else came back to her. St. Hermelin's was indeed an all-boys school. There was no getting around that fact. There was also no denying the fact that Pharos knew she was girl. If she approached him as his pen pal of ten years, that would be the same as outing herself as female. She couldn't do that. There was too many risks involved in letting someone else know, especially since she was already at a great disadvantage with both Junpei and Shinjirou being knowledgeable. It wouldn't matter when she found him if she was kicked out of school and forced to move away again. If anything the whole situation would probably be even more screwed up. This wasn't a matter of trust—she trusted Pharos more than anyone in the world—it was a matter of security. But there was also the niggling feeling of knowing that she would be burdening him with a very dangerous secret. She couldn't do that to him.

"Riichi-chan? Are you listening to me?"

"Ah yes!" The girl jumped to attention at the interruption of her thoughts. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

Atsuko regarded the girl with slight worry before she sighed and waved it away. "It was nothing. But am I to take it that you two weren't aware you were living in the same place?" Riichi shook her head in a weak no. The woman patted her shoulder affectionately. "Well, I suppose the next step then is to tell each other. You two are old enough that it shouldn't be a problem and-"

"No!" Riichi's shouted refusal shocked the woman as much as it did herself. Blushing lightly the girl gave a weak laugh as an apology. "I wouldn't want to intrude or anything," she explained. "It's probably best to leave things as they are."

There was a pause, in which the woman gazed at her with apologetic eyes, and then Atsuko sighed and patted her shoulder again. "If that's what you think is best." Her expression turned serious again, and the woman pursed her lips in thought. It was as if she was thinking on how to properly breach this subject. "Riichi, you haven't been approached by someone have you?" The girl answered her by leveling her with a confused stare. "Ah, well. How do I say this? You haven't been sought out specifically? Received a letter asking for your presence at a specific place or anything? You know, things like that?"

Riichi shook her head slowly. "I can't say I have," she responded, her tone careful. "Is there a reason I should be?"

Atsuko suddenly stood up and laughed nervously. "Oh no, nothing of the sort. I was just a little curious you see. Anyway perhaps it's time for you to visit the children."

The woman's uneasiness hadn't left though, and Riichi found herself wondering if maybe this was something she should press at another time. "Actually, I should probably be going now. I stayed over at a friend's yesterday and I think the old couple is probably getting a bit worried about me."

Atsuko allowed a soft smile to surface. "I see, well then we shouldn't keep them waiting. And you really should be referring to them more politely." The last part was said almost like an afterthought, and the other girl barely caught it. As Riichi stood up and collected herself, Atsuko fidgeted nervously. "Riichi." She didn't continue until the girl was properly looking at her. "The other two aren't here right now, of course, but if you want, Ch-"

"No." Her soft refusal silenced the rest of Atsuko's proposition. Riichi smiled brightly. "I don't think that would be a very good idea. We're not really close remember."

Atsuko nodded and allowed it to drop. "Let me see you to the door." The two walked in a heavy silence. When they reached the front door Riichi turned back around to say goodbye. The woman enveloped her in another hug, this one far gentler than the first had been. "Come back soon," she told her. "And Riichi." She held the girl out at arm's length and focused a serious gaze on her. "Don't ever forget your last name okay. If anything, never forget _that_."

"Arisato," Riichi replied as an assurance that she still remembered it. "I'll see you soon, and thanks for the letter." With that the girl disappeared back onto the streets. As she walked she felt her fingers instinctively tighten on the blue paper of her envelope.

If they really were classmates, her and Pharos, then would she really be able to just sit back and be satisfied with knowing just that? She clenched her jaw as she came to realization that no, she wouldn't. In that moment Riichi promised herself that she would find him. And she would do it on her own, because asking for Atsuko's help kind of seemed like cheating. She just wouldn't tell him she knew.

oOo

_Dear Orpheus_

_Roommate bonding? Well, it is pretty important I suppose. I've never really thought about it until recently. Until this one I've never been particularly close to any of my roommates. He's one of those people that it's hard not to become friends with. It's sort of charming in a way. _

_Ah ha ha, well it's kind of a different lifestyle. Don't worry about it though, it takes most people a while to get the hang of it. It's good that you're hanging in there, and I'm really happy that you're making friends. It's been a long time since you've seemed to be genuinely happy with where you're living. At the risk of sounding cheesy, I'm really glad you're doing well. I feel honored that you think of me as someone who gives you strength. It is a little embarrassing, I have to admit. Know that you can always talk to me though._

_Tell your roommate thanks for me, she sounds like a good friend. I still worry though, I guess it's kind of become habit. And it's no problem about the orphanage, I don't mind at all._

_My spelling wasn't that bad was it? Perhaps it was because I was nervous. It's embarrassing to admit but when we first started writing I was almost a wreck. I had no idea what to say, let alone what to say to a girl. It was only because you're such a sweet person that I found myself able to be comfortable again. Ah ha, this is my sappy thing. You were the person who allowed me to make connections. I wasn't a shy child by any means, but I didn't really know how to properly connect with other people. You were the first person I was able to sincerely call a friend. I hope this is satisfactory; I don't really have much else in way of 'sappy' stories you see. _

_If you want to talk about the 'one that gets carried away' I can tell you about him. He's very, energetic I suppose is the right word. He's a good friend, but sometimes I think he gets a little ahead of himself. I have this other friend that he doesn't get along with very well, and I feel bad for trying to make them become closer, but I really think they'd be good friends if they tried you know. Oh, this is more like me complaining isn't it? That wasn't my intention. How about I talk about a get-together we just went on? It was his idea, I think he was trying to make fun of my roommate actually. The kid's rather bad with women. It's cute. But my friend came back complaining that another one of his friends ruined his chances of getting closer with one of the girls we were with. He sulked about it for a few days._

_Anyways, now it's your turn. Tell me more about your roommate, since you seem to be so close to her. I'm getting kind of jealous actually._

_Pharos_

_P.S. Well, I eat anything sweet really. I'd like anything you got me for sure, if that's what you're hinting at. Even if I'm getting too ahead of myself, I'm sending chocolates because it wouldn't be right for me to receive something and not give in return. _

oOo

Riichi smiled as she reread the letter again. The fingers of her free hand curled around the small chocolate bar that had also come in the envelope. He really was sweet. It was almost unfair how sweet he was.

She thought back on the events that had happened earlier that day. To think he was that close. It almost felt like she had found out something forbidden, but perhaps that was because for about ten years neither of them had any knowledge of where the other was let alone what they looked like. She didn't even know his real name. The distance between them suddenly felt much farther than it had the day before. It was like learning something personal about him was a reminder that she knew next to nothing. Though she had told herself all these promises about finding him, she really didn't know where to start. And asking Atsuko was a huge no-no; it wouldn't be the same if she simply had his identity told to her.

With a sigh the girl folded the letter and placed it lovingly back into the envelope. Now that she had that out of the way, she probably had a lot of apologizing to do.

She had already apologize profusely to the old couple. They had been more worried than angry, but she could there had been a slight desperation on their part. She supposed the only thing that had saved her was that they had indeed gotten the call about her staying at the dorms. Of course that invoked plenty of questions to the reason why she had stayed there, as well as who she had stayed with. Riichi had to spin a few tales about how a friend had needed her advice immediately, and since she had a convenient change of clothes went back to give it. She then admitted to it being very late when they were finished and that because it was so late she had just decided to spend the night. They bought it easily enough, and though she was grateful, their trust in her had left a bitter taste in her mouth. Needless to say she felt bad.

Who she really needed to ask forgiveness from now, was Junpei. She wasn't sure what had happened, but she did know Junpei's intense (and unwarranted) fear of the senior, and if she had somehow ended up with Shinjirou that meant that the two had interacted in some way. That also probably meant that whatever she had told the boy was able to worry him enough to come and steal her from the group. Something told her Junpei's pride hadn't escaped unscathed after that meeting. Whatever the case, the girl left her letter safely in her desk drawer, and went to retrieve her phone.

oOo

When Yukari called asking her to meet that Wednesday, she knew she was in trouble. When the girl made it frighteningly obvious that she was to come alone and there would be great consequences if she wasn't _alone_, Riichi was pretty sure she needed to be terrified.

The two met up at a local café, and so far all they had done was order and silently stare at each other. Yukari seemed to be waiting for something. Riichi wasn't exactly sure, but she thought that was a signal that she was supposed to open the conversation. Her fingers curled nervously around the mug of coffee she was now nursing. Yukari's expectant stare was not making things easier on her.

"So," she began, having to stop and clear her throat. "Did you and Fuuka make it back to the dorms safely?"

The girl sniffed. "Of course," she replied, as if it were obvious. "How about you?"

Riichi gave a nervous giggle. Oh shit, this was going south already. "Yeah, I got home a-okay." It wasn't necessarily a lie. She had _eventually_ gotten home, and while yes she wasn't exactly in tip-top shape she had still been alright.

Yukari's eyes narrowed. "Is that so?" she spoke, making it clear she didn't want an answer. After another moment of silence the girl's eyes narrowed even further. "So, I guess Junpei was lying when he said you weren't home when he got there to drop your shopping bags off."

Well there went that story.

There was another giggle out of the girl as she tried to salvage whatever was left of her white lie. "I do remember him telling me that." She was trying to buy time. By Yukari's continued glare it wasn't really working. "Well, what time did he get there? I probably wasn't home yet."

"Funny considering the fact that you left before us." The comment was made so offhandedly that it only succeeded in making one even more nervous.

With a sigh Riichi bowed her head. "Alright fine, I got home late Monday. But that was only because I had to go visit the orphanage."

Yukari seemed a little pleased now that she had wheedled the truth out of the girl. She was in no way placated though. "Shinjirou Aragaki hmm?" she mused. Her index finger traced the rim of her coffee mug. "He came all the way here from school just to pick you up. Isn't that nice?"

"Listen, it's definitely not what you're thinking." Riichi's expression flattened at Yukari's arched eyebrow. "Trust me. I can't say for sure, because honestly I remember jack shit about what happened at that club, but I think he came because he knew I was with Ryouji."

It was obvious Yukari wasn't buying it. "So he was jealous?"

Riichi let out a groan of a sigh. "No, he wasn't _jealous_. Look, he saw me as a girl, so obviously he knows right?"

"I was actually going to ask about that next."

"It's a long story and I'm not telling it," Riichi cut her off before Yukari had the chance to inquire further. The other girl looked a little miffed, but she didn't press the subject. "He's been really cool about the whole cross-dressing thing." Actually if she was going to be serious, it was probably more like he couldn't be bothered to care. Yukari didn't need to know that particular bit of information though. "So he gets a call from a drunk me, and when he finds out Ryouji's there he takes the logical step and thinks, _'Maybe I should separate them before she spills something_'." Yukari's skeptical expression hadn't so much as twitched. "You're not believing me are you?" Riichi asked, already knowing the answer.

The girl shrugged and rolled her eyes. The corners of her lips were curling in a sly smile though. "Not really no, but you obviously seem to think I need to so I'll let it slide for now."

Riichi wanted to throttle someone. "Look, it's a really weird relationship okay. I don't know how else to explain it. If anything he's like an older brother, or a confidant, or something. I don't even know anymore. He sees me as a brat if it helps at all."

Yukari at least looked a little more sympathetic now. "If you say so," she finally settled on. "It's just kind of hard to believe that someone would come so far out of their way to protect the secret of a some kid that they associate with."

Riichi really just wanted her to drop it, she didn't care what nonsense Yukari was pulling out of this. "Look, Junpei's done far more for me and I don't see you jumping to all these conclusions about the two of us."

The expression on the girl's face was at least gratifying. "Stupei is a completely different matter," Yukari snorted, still eyeing Riichi with an intense sort of disgust. "It only took me two days to be assured you two will never get together. Don't even _hint_ at it."

There was something weird about the fact that Yukari would be so opposed to someone else dating Junpei—to which Riichi had several unproven theories to—but the girl was just happy to note that they were now off the topic of Shinjirou. To make sure and keep it that way, she began, "So um, I didn't scare away Fuuka did I?"

Yukari paused and had to take a moment to think about her answer. Finally she settled on, "I don't think so."

"Oh well that's reassuring." Riichi leaned back in her chair, deviation to another topic having made her loosen up.

The girl shrugged. "Well, I can't say you were exactly hospitable during your little episode. I don't think she'll be forgetting that one for a while." As she was now being eyed quite dangerously, Riichi felt herself almost wanting to ask what the hell she had done that night. But at the same time that very thought was frightening, and so she refrained. "I think she understood though. I explained that you normally weren't like that and that the only reason any of that happened was because I let those two tag along."

Despite the fact that Yukari had just admitted to not being mad at her, Riichi did something stupid and argued back. "Oh come on, they did nothing wrong. Okay maybe Junpei was being Junpei, but Ryouji was nothing but polite the whole time."

The two were now exchanging glares. No matter how frightening Yukari looked, Riichi was not giving this time. "I have made it perfectly clear that I don't want that guy anywhere near me, or you for that matter. Why you decided to bring him along so he could flirt with every-"

"I wasn't going to tell him to go home!" Riichi snarled back.

"You were a girl! Why would the thought that it might be a good idea to bring him along while you're a girl ever even cross your mind? Do I have to remind you what his relationship to you is?"

Riichi bit her lip in frustration. She had a good point; there was really no decent way to argue around that one. But the need to defend hadn't disappeared and the girl found herself sighing and admitting to something. "He came to see me."

The expression on Yukari's face said nothing more than, '_duh_'.

"No, he came to see 'Riichi', not 'Rimi', or whoever I am. I couldn't say no alright. He had already seen me as a girl, and it was way too much trouble to have to change after I had already gotten ready." Almost as if she was pouting, the girl crossed her arms on the table and placed her chin in them. Yukari looked almost disgusted at the thought of being that close to the table, but said nothing on it. "He's a good friend, probably one of the few people that I can actually talk to. And I felt bad telling him to go away." She sat back up and her fingers once again curled around her mug. Riichi held it up beneath her chin, as if using it as a small shield. "There's something a lot of people don't know, and that's Ryouji is fragile. When it comes to things he really cares about he gets hurt pretty easily, though he doesn't show it." Her gaze had traveled down to the contents of her mug. She probably shouldn't be saying this, but she wanted to get Yukari to at least understand the boy a little bit. Having one of her best friends in a one-sided war with her other was not only exhausting but kind of painful.

Both of Yukari's eyebrows were now raised. "Is that so?" she asked, taking a delicate sip of her drink. "I don't see how that has anything to do with me or you hanging around with him while you're a girl."

Riichi rolled her eyes and set her mug down with an audible click. "Look, he's naïve. There is not one bone in his body that has any deviousness in it. You don't have any reason to hate him to this extent." She was now glaring quite viciously at the other girl.

Yukari was rather surprised at this. It wasn't often that Riichi made her vehemence known to this extent. To be this angry meant that she genuinely cared for whatever was being discussed. As Yukari thought about what that 'discussed' was, she sighed and gave up. "Fine, I'll stop badmouthing him if that's what you really want." Riichi's expression softened and for the first time in their meeting she genuinely smiled. The other girl took a moment to sit and evaluate her companion's expression. When she was finished, Yukari leaned back in her chair and said, "So you're in love with him."

Riichi jumped and almost managed to spill her drink in her lap. "Excuse me?" she prodded, not quite sure she had heard correctly.

"You're in love with him," Yukari repeated. At Riichi's persisting expression of blank shock, the girl focused an exasperated gaze on her. "Don't play dumb. It's obvious."

The darker haired girl shook her head, her gaze returning back to the contents of her mug. "No, I'm not," she argued weakly. The girl fidgeted nervously, feeling Yukari's narrowed eyes on her but being too afraid to look up at them.

There was a continuous clink which Riichi determined to be Yukari's nails tapping against the table. "You're a really bad liar," the girl sniffed. "You were on the warpath a few minutes ago. Why be so defensive now?"

Riichi sniffed and swirled her mug lightly. "I'm not," she repeated. "I'm not in love. You remember my living situation right?" She peeked up under her lashes in order to gauge whether the other girl was listening or not. "I don't do romantic relationships. It's messy and complicated and there's no guarantee I'm going to stick around long enough for them to play out." She sighed as she set her mug down and folded her hands in her lap. She really didn't want to talk about this, but there wasn't any other way she was going to get Yukari off her back. Plus, thinking on it a bit, it was probably good to get this out. It might help her put things back into perspective. "I admit I'm attracted to Ryouji." Yukari snorted. Riichi shot her a look to say how unappreciated it was. "He's different than a lot of the guys I've encountered up till now. There's something about him that's comfortable." Her eyes steeled and she set her determined gaze square on her companion. "But that's all. It's not going anywhere; I won't _let_ it go anywhere. He's my roommate, there's no way that me falling in love with him would end well. He's also one of my best friends. In my situation I can't go making things awkward for all of us. Honestly, I don't want to lose what I have right now. So no, I'm not in love with him."

The two stared silently at each other for a few moments. Yukari sighed and opened her mouth to speak when a loud vibration cut her off. Both girls jumped and stared at the phone jumping on the edge of the table. Riichi gave a nervous laugh and reached over to extract it. Her eyes fell upon the caller id and at once her expression fell. "Of course," she muttered under her breath. Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

"Are you going to get that?" Yukari inquired after the other girl had spent a good two minutes staring at the screen in a kind of dread.

Riichi jumped again and looked up stupidly at her. "Ah heh, no it's a blocked number. It's probably Kenji playing a prank or something." She allowed the phone to ring until her voicemail picked up, and then slowly brought it down to hide underneath the table. "So um, how's school?"

Yukari was obviously not convinced, but she allowed the subject to change without comment. "It's fine. I'm pretty sure I aced most of my exams. It was almost painful how obvious some of those questions were." She was looking quite pleased with herself right now. "The archery team is doing well too. They're saying we have a really good chance at making it to the nationals. Of course that means the captain's been drilling us harder."

Riichi continued to look as interested as possible. Under the table she flipped her phone back open and punched in a message.

_**its safer to text right now. whats up**_

As discretely as she had sent the text, the girl fiddled with her phone and managed to change it to silent. "I knew you guys were good, I didn't know you were _that _good." She laughed as Yukari arched an amused and slightly offended eyebrow at her. "Good luck if you do make it."

The brunette chuckled. "You haven't joined a team yet right? I doubt they have volleyball at St. Herms." Her laughter turned to outright giggling as Riichi wrinkled her nose at her. "Don't give me that look. You know I'm teasing. It would be hard for you to keep up with most of those guys anyway."

Feeling kind of self-righteous now, Riichi gave a haughty sniff. "I'll have you know I'm lined up to join the kendo team." She hadn't exactly agreed to it, but that was probably the only out she had. And well, Akihiko had apparently been kind enough to allow himself to be used into getting her a way in. Who was she to overlook a senior's kindness? Under the table her phone lit up.

_**okay? Are you free tomorrow? I have something I want to talk about, and it's better to do it in person.**_

Riichi felt an intense feeling of dread come over her. Whatever he wanted to discuss was obviously important. If she wasn't getting too ahead of herself, she had a good idea that it was probably about whatever had happened during her drunk escapades. Yukari spoke up again and the girl had to fight to keep the apprehension out of her expression.

"Seriously? Do you know the captain?" Yukari's eyes, for lack of a better expression, were positively sparkling.

The other girl was feeling a little weird now. "No, not yet," she replied, picking her words with care. "Should I?"

Yukari leaned across the table and stared at Riichi with a seriousness that could not be rivaled. "_Please_ get close to him. Ask him to help you train, or eat lunch with you, I don't care. But when you become friends tell him that you're friends with Yukari Takeba, and make some hint that he should get to know me better."

Riichi now had to fight to keep herself from falling into hysterics. She had forgotten how excited Yukari got when talking about boys. Of course that excitement was mostly limited to times when it was just the two of them, and the boy she was talking about had to be really something. Yukari wasn't one to squeal over just a pretty face. In fact Riichi had only known the girl to be really interested in one other guy over the course of their acquaintance.

"The captain right?" Riichi confirmed.

Yukari nodded. She had calmed down, but her eyes were still sparkling with excitement. "Okamatchi-kun's pretty hard to miss. I'm sure you won't have a problem finding him."

Something clicked in the girl. "Okamatchi?" That name was eerily familiar.

The girl nodded again. "Yeah. He's one of the richer guys, but he's like, super modest. He's really quiet actually, makes him kind of mysterious. But he doesn't come off as being snobbish or anything." Riichi had never seen Yukari smile as sweetly as she was right then. Part of her was alarmed, the other part felt like she wanted nothing but to help her friend with her romance.

"So, you want me to set you two up?" Just because it was refreshing to see Yukari so sweet, didn't mean that she wasn't going to tease her. "I guess it's about time for me to play the shallow friend. Befriending someone only with the intention of selling him off."

Yukari looked like she wasn't sure whether to get angry or laugh. "You could actually become friends with him. I'm not just trying to get a date you know."

Riichi cocked her head cutely. "You seemed pretty intent on it a few minutes ago," she stated matter-of-factly. The girl couldn't keep the sly grin off her face though and when Yukari saw it she leaned across the table and playfully smacked her.

"I was just saying that I wouldn't mind getting closer to him, that's all." Riichi's look was that of amused skepticism. "What? What's wrong with wanting to get to know someone better?"

Riichi shrugged, "Nothing, nothing at all." She continued smiling at Yukari, to which the girl fidgeted uncomfortably and tried to diffuse it by glaring back. Her gloating was put to a swift end when she glanced down and was reminded of the other conversation she was in. Ryouji's message glared back at her as if goading her for not answering sooner.

It was now Yukari's turn to gloat. "Don't mind me. You might as well answer him already."

The girl blushed to her roots. But as an attempt to salvage at least a little pride, she brought her phone on top of the table and texted a quick response.

_**Alright. Are you coming here or do you want me to go see you?**_

After sending it, the girl turned her phone back to vibrate and placed it back in her lap. Yukari raised an eyebrow at her. "So are you two planning a date already?"

Riichi glowered. "No." It was pretty amazing to her how much in denial she sounded right then. Yukari's cocked head wasn't any help.

Her phone lit up again and Riichi escaped back to it.

_**I'll come to you. Would three o'clock be okay?**_

She peeked up at Yukari's expectant gaze before replying.

_**That's cool. I'll meet you at the station.**_

With that she turned her phone off and pocketed it. She would read whatever else he might have to say after she had gotten somewhere safe. Planning things with Ryouji in front of Yukari was awkward to the point of mortification.

"I have something to say." Riichi looked back up at the girl, her whole posture guarded. Yukari had leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't approve. Don't ever think that I do. But you seem happy, so I'll support you in whatever you do."

Though she was still unsure of whether or not to prepare to defend herself, Riichi felt herself relaxing a bit. "Thanks," she replied. "You won't have to worry though. Like I said, nothing's going to happen." Yukari gave her a soft smile and nodded her head in what might have been a reassuring manner.

Riichi knew she hadn't been lying. She wasn't in love, _couldn't_ be in love with her roommate. But the thing that scared her the most, was that she wasn't sure how long that was going to last.

oOo

It was almost funny that even when she wasn't at school she was forced to cross-dress. Probably the funniest thing was how natural it felt to don her wig and bind her chest. Despite all her prior fears of meeting Ryouji again as a boy, when he stepped off the train she felt like they had never left school. Her first instinct was to run up and hug him, but since that was how she greeted as a girl, she refrained and simply waved.

It didn't take Riichi long to get back into the swing of being male. After they had said their greetings and walked out of the station in an awkward silence, she had already become accustomed to walking with her hands stuffed in her pockets and a certain step that had lost her usual grace but lengthened her stride.

They spent a good fifteen minutes of walking before Riichi got up the nerve to speak. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Ryouji jumped at the sound of her voice. He gazed at her in blank surprise, as if he had forgotten his reason. Then he nodded and returned his gaze forward. "I wanted to apologize."

To say Riichi was confused was an understatement. She battled with herself for a moment before deciding to ask. "For what?"

The raven haired boy didn't look like he wanted to answer. In fact Ryouji looked almost green. "Well uh, if you don't know, then it's probably best if I don't say." Riichi was now torn between her increasing curiosity, and the fear of what could be so bad as to make Ryouji this uncomfortable. "Anyway, you never mentioned that you had a sister."

Riichi felt like she had been punched. She knew that this was going to enter the conversation at some point; she just hadn't expected she would have to answer to it so soon. The girl gave a dry laugh and found she could look anywhere but at the boy. "So you met her? She's a treat huh?"

Now off the topic of his apology, Ryouji was quickly loosening back up. "Rimi-chan's a lovely girl. You shouldn't be ashamed of her."

'Ashamed' wasn't the word she was thinking of, but Riichi wasn't going to argue with him on it. "Anyway, she didn't say anything stupid when you two were together did she?" Riichi knew she had been pretty careful at the beginning of the day, but she wasn't sure what had happened after her memories started slipping. This was probably a good time for damage control.

Ryouji had to take a moment to think about it. "Well, she admitted that you tell her secrets about me." Riichi grimaced. "Other than that though," the boy petered out at the end, his face twisting into something unreadable. "And um, apologize to her as well could you. I didn't get her number, so I can't do it myself." The girl wasn't sure what to make of that. "If it's alright, may I ask where you were Monday? You stood up Junpei-kun you know."

Damn him and his ability to change the subject. Lie, lie, she needed a lie. "I was at my cousin's!" she blurted out, without really much thought.

"Your cousin's?" Ryouji seemed rather surprised at the outburst.

Riichi bit the inside of her cheek and nodded. "Yeah, he um, was having some personal issues. He needed someone to talk to."

The boy nodded and let out an '_ah_' of understanding. They lapsed back into silence. It didn't take long though for Riichi to notice that Ryouji was gazing quite intently at her chest. Feeling awkward and worried that maybe she hadn't bound her chest tight enough, Riichi tried to angle herself away from him. "Is something wrong?" she finally voiced.

Ryouji looked back up at her face and smiled. "Not a thing." He then laughed and scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Truthfully, I had some doubts. You and your sister were so similar in pretty much all regards that I think I might have been suspicious you were the same person."

Riichi was once again unable to look at him. "We get told that a lot. I swear I'm not a chick though."

The boy laughed again and looped an arm around her shoulders. "I can certainly see that," he replied mirthfully. Despite that being the reaction she had been looking for, that statement on top of the fact that he had been staring at her chest kind of irritated her. Then he looked back down at her, froze as if remembering something terrifying, and extracted his arm. Riichi watched with a strange sort of fascination as Ryouji subtly put a bit more distance between them.

"Just so you know, you're not getting a date," she threatened, still slightly confused over the boy's actions.

He did nothing more than laugh weakly. "I wouldn't dream of trying to take away such a precious girl from her brother." Part of the girl hoped that wasn't the only reason, and the other part desperately wished it was. "Anyway, are you ready to come back yet?"

She settled a slightly amused gaze on him. "I still have two days of break. What makes you think I want to spend it in a dorm full of sweaty guys?" As the boy laughed again at her, she allowed her mouth to curl slyly. "Why? Are you lonely without me around?"

Ryouji's own expression fell into teasing. "Perhaps. It is rather quiet without someone to bicker with Junpei-kun. He's begun to try and pick fights with me."

The girl snorted. "You just want me to get him off your back." His grin told her how right she was.

As they teased and laughed at their friend's expense, all Riichi could think of was how comfortable this really was.


	10. Wonder Boy

_So, it's finally out. I apologize for the time this has taken, I really do. And I'm hoping with the holidays fast approaching that the next chapter won't take nearly as long. I'm sorry again._

* * *

_**Wonder Boy**_

Stepping back into the dormitories had Riichi in a muddle of emotions. Simultaneously she felt relief and a cold wash of dread. Since most of the other boys were just getting back as well she managed to sneak past almost undetected and was able to reach her room without too many cries of, '_Idol-chan is back!_' Getting sexually harassed on her first day back didn't sound like something she wanted a part of.

Ryouji wasn't there when she stepped into the room. The girl clucked her tongue in disappointment as she closed the door behind her. Well there went her grand welcoming. Not that she had been expecting it or anything, she hastened to remind herself. (She also had to remind herself that she didn't feel lonely at the moment.) With that in mind, she set about unpacking the small suitcase she had brought back. The task proved itself to be an almost disheartening one. Nothing but jeans and baggy t-shirts emerged out of the bag. There was no hint of skirts or leggings or anything girly that she had been able to wear over the past week. In a way, it kind of made her want to cry.

By the time she had finished unpacking and thrown her suitcase back under her bed, Ryouji had made it back into the room. "Rii-kun, welcome back!" the boy greeted her, warm smile in place.

Riichi grinned back and gave a weird sort of wave. "Thanks. I'm here to save you from Junpei's whining." The boy broke out in laughter, to which she couldn't help but chuckle along. The girl stretched before crawling onto her bed and splaying herself out. Lying as she was, her shins hung off the side of the mattress. She vaguely realized that this would probably be really uncomfortable soon enough, but at the moment she didn't really care. "Question, is Junpei storming around pissed off?"

The boy quirked an eyebrow at her phrasing and teasingly began with, "Answer, he didn't seem that mad yesterday." When she didn't look at all reassured by this he shrugged sheepishly. "Well, I didn't really see him all that much yesterday, but what I did see of him he seemed perfectly fine."

"Ryouji, just stop. Don't say anything more," the girl groaned, pressing her face into her folded arms. Junpei had been, for lack of a better word, quite hostile when she had called him the other day to apologize for her drunken shenanigans. (Shenanigans that she still wasn't privy to.) She had managed to get him to at least spit out an acceptance of her apology, but he had hung up on her without really showing that acceptance. She really wasn't looking forward to their face-to-face meeting. While Riichi knew the boy was going to eventually forgive her, she also knew that Junpei could hold a grudge with the best of them. To be on the receiving end of it was not at all pleasant.

She heard Ryouji's footsteps as he slowly made his way over to her. The mattress shifted and Riichi felt herself being angled slightly downward to the left. There was a painfully long silence before she felt a brief pressure. The awkward pat on her back did little to soothe her, but she appreciated it all the same. "It'll be alright," the boy reassured her. "He can't be mad at you for having to go take care of your cousin. It'll blow over soon."

Riichi was reminded of her little white lie. She supposed the circumstances would have Ryouji believe that her "inability to show up" to their get-together last Monday was the cause of Junpei's foul mood. It wasn't, not by a long shot, but though he was wrong he was still doing a good job at trying to make her feel better. So she lifted her head out of her arms and gave him a smile that she hoped was at least a little reassuring. "Thanks. You're probably right. He'll let it go soon enough."

The memory of the snarled '_apology accepted_' the boy had given before rudely hanging up on her resurfaced. Soon enough probably wasn't going to come very soon.

Deciding that she really needed to stop making her first day back depressing, the girl pulled herself up and leaned back on her arms. "Anyway, we get our exam grades soon right?"

With the sudden topic change Ryouji took on a more relaxed persona and shrugged. "I believe it's tomorrow. They'll post them up in the first year's hallway. It's inconvenient for the rest of us, but I suppose that's the best place for it."

Riichi cringed. "Oh yeah, that's real convenient. Isn't it kind of weird that they're doing the normal 'stick it up in the hallway' thing? I figured rich kid school would promote not doing stuff that would 'embarrass the students and hurt potential future business partnerships'." In all honesty she really didn't care about all that. Riichi hadn't even thought about any of this until Akihiko had enlightened her on the finer points of the 'rich kid school life'. Her main reason for worrying was simple and stupid and involved her being afraid of letting everyone see her name after a number that had more than one digit. Riichi could lie and say that she didn't care about grades, but after devoting so much time to one's studies and being at the top of the class for an equally long amount of time it was a pretty hard blow to know that you weren't up there any longer. If she was going to be painfully honest, if she got anything lower than fourth place she would probably be mortified.

The boy just laughed as he stood back up. "They list them by student number," he explained as he shifted to sit down on his own bed. "That way you're the only one who can really see your rank."

She let out a relieved breath. At least that wasn't something she needed to worry about anymore. Even had she gotten in the top three there was always the chance of being terrorized for being an overly intelligent idol. You never could seem to win when you held that particularly nasty title.

Tired and newly relieved of all worries—for the moment anyway—Riichi rolled over on her back. "You know, it really is good to be back," she admitted, grinning brightly at the boy's resulting smile. "I guess I missed you more than I thought I did." Although she was teasing there was a bit of truth in it. Seeing Ryouji the other day had felt pretty nice; being back in the room with him felt like she had actually come home though. It was weird because home was supposed to be with parents or with Atsuko, but she didn't really mind anymore.

Ryouji's smile softened a little bit more. "I'm honored that you care so much about me," he replied easily. It was almost irritating sometimes how in stride Ryouji seemed to take cheesy things. It made Riichi want to do something mean to make him blush. (She had seen it only once or twice, she had to admit she wanted to see it again.) "Since you feel that way, I'd love it if you'd help tutor me more in math. I don't think I did very well on that exam."

She felt her grin fall slightly. "Is that all I am to you?" she mock-grouched. He chuckled amiably, giving a light shrug in response. For a moment silence enveloped the room. This allowed the girl time to think again, and after some thought she began to fidget nervously. The girl rolled back onto her stomach and pushed herself up on her knees.

Ryouji, noticing her change in mood, cocked his head in concern. "Is everything alright?" he asked.

The girl nodded her head absentmindedly. "Yeah, yeah," she repeated, still not really paying attention. After another minute she glanced up at him from under her lashes. "Hey Ryouji?"

Not used to hearing his name without an honorific, the boy looked momentarily surprised. He recovered quickly and leaned forward. "Yes?"

"Do you-" she began, cutting herself off and licking her lips in an attempt to better prepare herself. "Do you, maybe, know someone that has a pen pal?"

If she had known his various expressions a little better she might have thought that he paled for a moment. Whatever kind of reaction it was, it was lost in less than a second and the boy seemed to be able to look at anything but her. "Well, not that I can immediately recall," he chuckled nervously. She was finding this weird and just a tad bit suspicious. "Why do you need to know?"

With the tables suddenly turned on her, Riichi felt herself adopting the awkwardness that Ryouji was feeling. "No reason," she mumbled, almost to the point of it not being audible. "Curious."

Before he could ask her what had caused that curiosity the room echoed with the knocking of their door. Riichi inwardly celebrated as Ryouji looked up and called a soft 'come in'. Kenji of all people burst impatiently through the door and, upon spying Riichi, made a beeline towards her. She felt torn between annoyance and bafflement as he closed in on her with an expression of seriousness that could rival those in historical portraits.

"Reech is it true?" the boy finally voiced.

She shared a glance with Ryouji, both more confused as to the sudden use of 'Reech'—a nickname that had pretty much always been Junpei's right and his alone—than to what he was asking about. Focusing her gaze back on the boy currently invading her personal space, she managed a grouchy, "What?"

Kenji groaned as he took a step back. "Dude, it's like, all over the third years! Yes or no?"

"Tomochika-kun, what exactly is it you're speaking of?" Ryouji spoke up, probably thinking that Riichi was probably going to get nowhere. She was both miffed and relieved to note that he was most likely right.

The brunette grinned and placed a hand excitedly on his hip. "They're saying that Riichi here was seen wandering around the school in drag over the break."

Riichi paled while Ryouji merely looked confused.

"N-no," she stammered. Her voice would have been stronger had she not still been suffering from shock. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about." The girl scooted backwards towards the head of her mattress, attempting to put more distance between herself and the offending boy.

Kenji snorted, shooting an almost smug glance her way. "You were seen by at least twelve seniors. Four of who can't stand each other, so you can't claim they got together and decided to make up some embarrassing story." She closed her mouth with a click of her teeth and Riichi swore the guy's smile only grew that much more smug.

Ryouji cleared his throat softly. "Rii-kun couldn't have been here," he explained. "He was at his cousin's house."

The girl found herself nodding exuberantly in agreement. "Yup, I have Ryouji as a witness!" she excitedly pointed out. Kenji looked particularly skeptical about the whole thing. "I wasn't here and I definitely wasn't here in _drag!_" Riichi knew she was a dirty rotten liar and she apologized profusely to the twelve-something guys she was throwing under the bus. But there was no way she was going to allow people to know she had been around the school in a skirt. Even if she played it off as a dare or a prank, she would never be able to get everyone to shut up about it. Her last two years would be spent mercilessly teased by guys who desperately wanted her to put on a dress for them. Even fantasizing about it was making her want to cry.

"Oh," Ryouji's voice once more broke through the silence. "It might have been Rimi-chan," he offered.

Riichi would have vehemently denied this had she not tried to scream bloody murder too quickly and ended up making herself choke on her own saliva. Kenji gave her an odd look before turning back to the other boy. "Rimi?" he ventured.

The raven-haired boy nodded in response. "She's Rii-kun's twin sister. They look identical; even I had trouble telling them apart." If Ryouji's smile hadn't been the epitome of innocence, Riichi might have seriously considered strangling him. As it stood, all she was able to do was inwardly sob while she continued to recover her breath, and listen to Kenji's shouts and yelps of joy.

oOo

Well she had known Junpei was mad (especially after Ryouji's dismal failure to assure her otherwise) but she hadn't expected the obvious seething hate that greeted her when they had bumped into each other at dinner Sunday night. Riichi had been completely unprepared for it because she had gotten used to Junpei's habit of eating ramen in his room on the weekends. By the look on the boy's face, he obviously hadn't been thinking of the possibility of their meeting either. As it stood the two had managed an awkward standoff just outside the buffet line; Riichi clutching her overfilled dinner tray and Junpei holding his obviously barren one.

Half out of habit and half out of a desire to possibly acquire an early forgiveness, Riichi allowed a large smile to light up her face. "What's up? Haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, a while," he replied weakly, still not completely over the shock of running into her so soon. As if suddenly remembering that he was supposed to be mad at her, Junpei's face darkened into a scowl. "I heard 'Rimi-chan' was here last weekend. Isn't that nice?"

The girl's expression fell at his snarling. Well there went any hope of patching things up today. "Isn't it," she muttered in reply. "Look, I really don't remember what happened. Honestly I still have no idea why I-she ended up with Senpai. If you could tell me what happened then I could properly fi-"

"Rii-kun you didn't sit down ye-oh Junpei-kun!" Ryouji approached them, the half-filled tray in his hands indicating he had just finished collecting his dinner. He stopped next to her and focused his friendly smile on Junpei. "It's nice to see you. Are you going to sit with us?"

Instead of answering Ryouji's question the capped boy pointed at him. "Why don't you ask him what happened," he growled at Riichi. She would have thought that a novel idea had Ryouji not already made it quite clear he was going to allow 'Rimi' to do the honors. And since 'Rimi' had no idea what had happened she was back to square one. "Ryouji man, I'm sorry but I already ate. I'll see ya." With that said he stormed between the two of them and left without a backwards glance.

They were silent for a few minutes, both trying to soak up what had just happened. Finally she shot a sideways look at the raven-haired boy through narrowed eyes. "So he didn't seem that mad huh?" she snarked.

He replied with a nervous chuckle. "Well, he was a lot calmer than he was a few days ago," he tried. Riichi threw her head back and groaned.

oOo

She was grateful, really she was. She didn't want anyone thinking that she wasn't happy to be in second place in academics in the whole of their grade. But there was something irritating about those two little points that had lost her first place. It was almost like they were mocking her.

So that's why Riichi stood in front of the announcement board, narrowed eyes glaring holes into the student number that had been placed just above hers. If she had lost by a good ten or so points she would have been fine, but as it stood Riichi kind of felt like she had been cheated. She continued staring and desperately willed herself not to send threatening thoughts towards whoever was the owner of that number. The bastard was probably laughing at her. Her, who had lost to him by two (_insignificant!_) points. The thought of it made her blood boil and for a moment Riichi actually forgot that she was merely imagining this.

"Next time," she murmured under her breath. Had anyone been close enough to actually hear her, they would have been stunned by the sheer bloodlust those words contained.

"Oi, Kitamura!"

The girl's entire demeanor did a one-eighty as her head snapped up in surprise. "Senpai?" she sputtered in response to the shock of silver hair that was approaching her.

Akihiko grinned at her. "Seen your grades huh?" It was more of a statement, considering the fact that she had already been standing here for a good five minutes. He stopped beside her and looked up at the board himself. "This is the first chance I've gotten to come down. Kind of makes me wish they just put these up on the third floor." While he talked she saw his eyes narrow searchingly. He appeared to have found his number rather quickly, if his nonchalant nod and accompanying shrug were any indication.

Feeling obligated to ask, Riichi put out a hesitant, "So what rank did you get?"

The boy looked at her in mild surprise before grinning all over again. "Fourteenth," he shrugged.

Riichi hid her surprise behind a cough and a sincere, "Wow, congrats." It wasn't like she had thought he was stupid, not by a long shot. But the girl had to admit that she kind of had him pegged as one of those jocks that didn't click well with studying. She just hadn't been prepared for this revelation.

His smile curled slightly. "I'm not an idiot, if that's what you were thinking."

She felt her face heat up. "N-no," the girl stammered, refusing to look at him. When she didn't feel him lift his gaze she fidgeted awkwardly. "I didn't think you were an _idiot,_" she finally continued.

Akihiko shrugged and let her off with that explanation. "Well, I have this friend who I've known for a really long time. She's got this thing about grades and studying, it's kind of scary sometimes actually. Between her and Shinji I don't really have much of a choice. I either get good grades or I face the study session from hell."

Riichi clamped her mouth shut in order to stifle her laughter. She was really curious as to whoever this 'friend' was now. She was mostly just interested as to who could rival Shinjirou in the ability to be terrifying.

"Anyway, what about you?"

The girl was reminded of her earlier irritation. She hesitated long enough for Akihiko to start looking worried before she cleared her throat and muttered, "I'm ranked second." The senior looked pretty impressed actually. It made her feel slightly better. Only slightly.

He looked back up at the board. When his gaze settled at the top of the junior's list he smiled in understanding. "So he's first again," he commented, more to himself than to her.

Riichi picked it up all the same. "You know who it is?" she asked, probably more excitedly than was necessary. The girl cleared her throat again as she tried to regain composure. "I mean, who is it?"

Akihiko's eyebrow quirked upwards in amusement. "You really don't know?" he asked. She bit her lip to keep herself from shouting a 'yes'. Instead Riichi opted for nodding and training her gaze forward. She couldn't see it, but she was pretty sure Akihiko's expression was only becoming more amused. "I'll let him tell you," he finally settled on. Had she not owed him a lot, Riichi felt she would have had to fight a heck of a lot more to keep herself from knocking that laughing grin off his face. He obviously noticed the hostility radiating off of her because he laughed and reached over to tousle her hair. (The girl had started to become used to this treatment. She wasn't sure if that was just a quirk of the boy though, or if he was teasing her for being that much shorter than him. She decided on the former, if only to try and ignore the fact that her height, while fine as a girl, wasn't really helping her in the manly department.) He ignored her protesting grouch as he gave the top of her head one last pat. "You'll meet him soon enough, don't get all huffy."

That statement only made her want to be more huffy, but instead of arguing she turned her head the other way and grouched under her breath. When she didn't feel him move away, Riichi decided to venture into another topic of relevance. "About kendo," she began, trailing off in order to show him that she wanted details.

When she peeked back at him she saw that he had brightened in understanding. "You're pretty much squared away," he informed her. "Your first practice is Wednesday. Miyamoto will take you to the dojo so don't worry about that."

Riichi wasn't sure whether to be suspicious or eternally grateful. "Just like that?" Her skepticism was met with a shrug. "They didn't want to see me in person or anything first?"

Akihiko shook his head. "Nah, they're pretty chill about newcomers; just as long as you don't do anything to mess with practice or bother one of the senior members." He shrugged again, smiling as if it was the most natural thing ever to be accepted without ever showing one hint of dedication towards it. "Half the club's just there to have fun. They don't mind if you're not a genius in the sport." The boy's eyes slowly narrowed in calculation. "If you really wanted something where everyone would push you, you could join the box-"

"Thanks Senpai! I have a student council meeting now so I'm gonna go, yeah see ya!" Riichi shouted to drown out the rest of his proposal and dashed off in the other direction. She vaguely caught the cluck of the boy's disappointed tongue behind her. Akihiko was going to have to learn that she wanted no part of the boxing club, good way to showcase her manliness or no. She was grateful to him, but she wasn't _that_ grateful.

oOo

True to her senior's word, Wednesday after class Kazushi approached her with a rather awkward looking smile. Riichi stared back at him, half frightened half weirded-out. They were silent for a few minutes before Ryouji poked his head in-between them. "Is everything okay?" he finally asked.

Kazushi looked rather startled at the fact that anyone had ended up speaking. "I'm taking you to the dojo," he explained. "For Kendo."

Riichi would have been a little alarmed had she not remembered the fact that the boy was severely awkward in social situations that comprised of anything but sports, and Akihiko had in fact told her this on Monday. "Oh yeah, thanks for this man," she hopped off the desk, stretching her shoulders back in order to crack them.

Ryouji placed a hand on her shoulder to hold her back momentarily. "I'm going to go see Junpei-kun," he explained, placating smile in place.

She awkwardly shrugged in response. "Have fun I guess," was the only thing she could come up with in reply. Junpei had proven true to his nature the past couple days and his anger towards her had been made more than apparent. That standoff in the cafeteria last Sunday, in particular, had left her more than a little sore. When he had avoided all further contact with her the past two days and had opted instead to glare at her from across rooms and down hallways, she had come to the decision that she was just going to let him be a kid for however long he wanted. Riichi knew she was being childish as well but at this point she just didn't care anymore. She had her own problems she needed to deal with at the moment and he'd get tired of it soon anyway. As soon as he got bored he'd accept her apology.

The raven haired boy's smile became a little more strained. "Do you want me to pass on a message?" he tried.

She gave her own weak smile and shook her head. "It's alright. I don't want him avoiding you too," she replied.

He looked increasingly uncomfortable before trying to iron the tension out of his smile. "Well, have fun then. Don't get hurt okay." Ryouji gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. This action made him remember that he was still touching her and he pulled his hand back violently. Riichi and Kazushi stared at the boy with concern and surprise that mirrored what colored his own face. Ryouji gave an awkward laugh and failed at trying not to appear frantic. "I'll see you later," he stammered. "I'm just, I'm going to go now." With that said he clumsily dashed out of the room.

The two left stared at the empty doorway in silence. Kazushi was the first to break it when he cleared his throat. "Did you guys get in a fight or something?" he asked.

Riichi shook her head slowly. "No," she answered. "I didn't think so anyway."

Ryouji had been like this ever since they had gotten back from break. He didn't act any differently most of the time. It was only when they touched, like when he pat her back or she (tried to anyway) threw an arm over his shoulder that he started being weird. He'd get this strange look on his face and then rather obviously force some distance between them. It was beginning to worry her in all honesty. But he was fine the rest of the time, so she refrained from confronting him about it.

"Friends are strange," she muttered. Kazushi gave her a weird look which she chose to ignore. Between Ryouji and Junpei she could set the record for most uncomfortable friendships ever.

Kazushi cleared his throat again, this time much harder in order to get her attention. Her gaze snapped back at him, eyes wide in anticipation. "I'll lead the way, so um, we should probably go."

The girl opened her mouth and nodded lightly in understanding. "Oh, yes. Okay." She shuffled after him.

The two of them were silent until they had descended to the freshman hall. For the second time Kazushi was the one to break it. "What made you decide to join Kendo?"

She jumped slightly, not having expected him to speak up. "Um, well I was told that I needed to join a team or I'd be stuck in gym." She had blurted it out without thinking and as soon as it had left her mouth she regretted it. Riichi clapped an embarrassed hand over her mouth, as if doing so would reel that confession back in.

There was a minute of silence before Kazushi blurted out laughing. Needless to say Riichi was shocked all over again. "Has anyone told you that you're really interesting," the boy asked after he had quieted down a bit.

Still reeling from the shock of his outburst, Riichi shrugged and shook her head slowly. "I don't…I don't know," she stammered. "I guess?"

He shot a smile over his shoulder at her. His smile, she noticed, was much easier now. "It's alright you know, I'm not going to grill you on your reasons." Kazushi's expression steeled and the girl was left slightly startled. "But I hope you know there will be no slacking off. I'll make sure you train as hard as you possibly can."

Riichi stared at him in what might have been taken as unveiled horror. "Um, please take care of me?" she stammered, not sure how else to respond to this declaration. "I've never held a bokken in my life though, so I'm going to have to plead mercy on that."

The boy chuckled, but though his expression softened a bit his eyes were still serious. "We'll change that soon. I'll make sure you get the hang of it."

The girl wasn't sure whether to admire him for how seriously he seemed to want to help her out, or be afraid for the health of her body. She settled for a combination of both. "Gee thanks." She managed to keep most of the sarcasm out of it. Hopefully her years of playing volleyball had let her build up enough upper body strength to at least hold her own against some of these guys. "Just for reference, I'm not going to be expected to be fantastic right?"

Kazushi shook his head. "Nah, you won't be lectured or anything if you're not the greatest. But it's only natural to try and do the best you can right?" She was actually quite impressed at how serious he was while saying that. It was rare to see a guy with such a pure motivation to actually do his best nowadays.

"Well, I'll try my best," she replied, quite pleased with how happy he looked at that admittance. They walked for a little more before she opened her mouth again. "Was the campus always this big?" The girl nodded at the large courtyard they had just spent the last five minutes walking through after making their way out of the freshman hall.

He gave her a look that was mostly amusement but part incredulity. "It's a few more minutes out. You've been here for almost three months and you still haven't been out here?"

The girl shrugged and resumed her observations. "I have, I just didn't realize there was more stuff back here. Actually I didn't realize the school could find this much free land to buy."

"I really don't care about that stuff. I'm just glad we have a nice dojo." Typical, she thought and couldn't hold back the fond smile. "It's actually right there."

Riichi had to admit, it was pretty impressive from the outside. She let out a whistle of admiration at it before continuing to trail after Kazushi. The boy slid the door open and ushered her inside. The sound of wood knocking against wood filled the air. She timidly stepped inside, feeling shy for some reason now that she was actually here. "Take off your shoes here," he ordered. She did as told and placed them in the shoe racks next to a pair of rather nice looking dress shoes. He motioned her in further and Riichi allowed herself to step off the tatami mats and onto the wood floors. Even through her socks she could feel the polish of the wood under her toes. There was something about stepping into a place like this that made one feel like they needed to show the utmost respect. It was almost awe-inspiring. And then there was a loud cry and a resulting thud and the magic was lost.

A quick look around was enough to gauge that there was nothing but a bunch of sweaty men in here. She hadn't been expecting much—it was a boys' school after all, rich or no—but deep down she must have been hoping that there would be at least someone who could work as eye-candy. Or at least wasn't a total beefcake. Riichi would like to think that she wasn't shallow, and she'd gotten to the point where being around guys was about as exciting as raw chicken, but it was still nice to have someone to look at once in a while to refresh yourself. (Kazushi was a big no-no for this purpose. She knew him too well and furthermore there was something about a guy who forsook wearing any part of his uniform for sweats and gym clothes that was a pretty big turn-off.)

"We meet on Wednesdays and Thursdays from three-thirty to five, but the dojo is open pretty much any day. Some of us are actually in here about every day." He gave a small laugh. Riichi wasn't sure whether it was admiration or self-derision that was prevalent in it. Whatever it was though, it was gone in a flash. Kazushi's half-smile was back as he raised his arm to point across the room. She followed his arm and her gaze landed on a rather thin boy standing above a much larger one with his bokken raised in a ready position. "That's our captain," he explained, but she wasn't listening. Riichi was mesmerized by the deep midnight blue of his hair. "Minato Okamatchi."

(_So soft and pretty, why don't…_)

The girl winced at the sharp pain that shot through her skull. She instinctually threw a hand up to hold her head. This brought Kazushi's attention to her discomfort. "Hey, you okay?"

Riichi nodded lightly; face still screwed into an obvious expression of pain. "Yeah, it's fine. It's good," she tried to reassure him. After a minute the feeling passed and the girl was left still confused as to what had brought it about to begin with. "I'm cool," she continued to insist, now with much more conviction than before. "I'm really okay now."

Kazushi was about to contest her further when they were interrupted. "Is this the new member?" The boy that greeted them was about twice her size. Riichi would have been intimidated had his smile been anything but pleasant. (Actually now that she got a good look at him, she remembered seeing him around the senior hallway a lot. He often said hi to her on her way to the student council room.) He held out a large hand in order to shake, which she took with slight hesitance. "I'm the vice-captain, Amamoto. It's good to have you." Riichi winced lightly as another large thud echoed throughout the walls. The newly dubbed vice-captain laughed at her reaction. "Don't worry, I promise we don't let the new recruits spar seriously right from the get-go."

She laughed nervously in response. At the moment, all Riichi could think of was cursing Shinjirou for getting her into this. This idea was getting scarier and scarier by the minute.

"Kazushi's the one that brought you right?" the boy continued. "He's one of our best, you'll be lucky if he keeps you under his wing."

Kazushi gave a wry smile at the praise. "I don't know if I'm that good, but thank you Senpai."

The senior laughed. "Well anyway, he told you who our captain was right? He's in the middle of a match right now but I'll introduce you in a minute. What's your name anyway, I don't think I got around to asking."

"Kitamura," she replied, finally able to produce a genuine smile. "Riichi Kitamura."

There was a loud clatter and the room went silent immediately. The three of them all turned their heads at once to see what had happened. Riichi's gaze met dark gray as she locked eyes with the boy who had been named captain. "Riichi?" he parroted. His voice was soft but surprisingly it seemed to fill the room and make one want to sit and listen to everything he had to say. She stood stock still as he took in her appearance, his gaze lingering on her face and her hair. Though his expression didn't change there was a flicker of what might have been childish delight in his eyes. He started walking towards her and with how quick his stride was he was in front of her in moments.

The boy stood in silence for another few minutes, taking this time to look her over from a closer distance. It was this action that allowed her to get a better look at him as well. He was a few inches taller than her, and as she had thought earlier was quite skinny. It was almost inconceivable that someone this small could become the captain of a kendo team. But he had a presence about him that made one want to respect him. She snuck peeks at his face—which actually seemed kind of unnecessary because he was so engrossed in his own observations that he wouldn't have noticed her staring at him anyway—and came to the conclusion that he had rather soft features. Feminine, she would have said had it not seemed like an insult. It was easy to see how this boy had been her competition for the title of 'idol'. Having gotten a good look and feeling pretty awkward by now, Riichi was about ready to open her mouth and attempt to introduce herself. His next move had her forgetting all ideas of propriety though. He raised his arm and before she could blink there was a firm pressure on her chest. If she hadn't been so surprised by the action she would have paled. In her disbelief though all she could do was stare at him.

Though his expression didn't so much as twitch, it appeared as if he was extremely disappointed. "It's flat," he sighed.

This was enough to bring Riichi out of her stupor. She balled her hand into a fist and gritted her teeth in part ferocity and part desperation. "Of course it's flat," she snarled. "I'm a guy you ass!" And without really thinking about what she was doing, the girl threw her right arm with everything she had. Her fist connected solidly with the side of the boy's unsuspecting head. He went down in the blink of an eye. The hush that had settled over the dojo was broken at last. There was a chorus of shouts and gasps and then chaos erupted.

Riichi flushed crimson before panicking and thrusting an accusing finger at the fallen boy. "I was provoked!" she shouted in her defense, before she bolted out of the dojo.

oOo

"Why the hell are you here? And what happened to you?"

Riichi gulped in air, her lungs burning from her running. She hadn't stopped sprinting until she had finally made her way into Shinjirou's room—and after having made a detour to her room, then Junpei's room, and then as a last ditch burst of insanity to Kenji's room (turning around as soon as she reached the door to all of them for different reasons) she was pretty sure she had made her way around most of the school.

She should have just joined the damn track team.

"I needed….to talk…" she sputtered, still not having recovered her air supply. "And Junpei's still mad….and I can't talk….to Ryouji about it…and god I was….not tal…talking to Kenji…..about _anything _to do with this."

Maybe it was because she was speaking in such broken sentences, but he was staring at her like she had grown another head. "I don't understand how that makes me the person to talk to." She shook her head and gasped another raw inhale of oxygen. Shinjirou rolled his eyes at her and dropped the subject in favor of standing up and moving to force her into a seated position on his bed. "Calm down for a minute," he ordered as he retrieved a water bottle and thrust it into her hands. "Try and sip some of it alright."

Riichi nodded frantically as she attempted to do as he said. She was really thankful for Shinjirou's mothering. He was good at making people calm down, even if he did try and play it off as a bother. The girl sucked in a last slightly shuddering breath before she was finally calm enough to talk in complete sentences. "Sorry," she finally managed out.

The boy grunted in response, still hovering over her as if he were afraid she'd spontaneously forget how to breathe again. "You're already here, now out with it. What happened?"

Kind of thinking it embarrassing now that she was in her right mind, Riichi pouted childishly and refused to look up at him. "I was in the dojo," she began, fidgeting under his gaze. "And I met the vice-captain and he was really nice and all. And then I met the captain and," she paused here, half hoping he was just going to understand with that. It was mortifying for the fact that she had let it happen and because she had gotten so worked up about it. Peeking up to see the senior's expression Riichi came to the conclusion that he wasn't able to telepathically understand what she getting at. With a sigh and puff of her cheeks she muttered, "He kinda groped me."

The room was silent for a minute. Finally Shinjirou gave an exhausted sigh and responded with, "You think he knows about your secret?"

She gave a half shrug half fidget in reply. "I don't think so. There wasn't any reason for him to. It was like he was reacting to my name."

The senior sighed again. "What did you do afterwards?"

Riichi grew even more uncomfortable. "I kinda, punched him," she admitted. Her confession was met with a low groan and a muttering of 'idiot'.

She would have been offended had the boy's door not been thrown open at that moment. Akihiko rushed into the room, looking torn between being frantic and finding something really hilarious. "Oi Shinji, have you seen Kitamura? I need to talk to him about—"

He locked eyes with the girl and the room returned to silence.

"Akihiko, it's fine. You're being dramatic." The thin boy that stepped out from behind the silver-haired senior made Riichi ten-shades of uncomfortable all over again. And if his mere presence wasn't enough, the ice pack he was nursing the side of his head with freaked her out all the more. The kendo captain looked up and upon laying his eyes on her dropped the ice. (Despite being both shocked and desperately worried—or maybe because of it—Riichi found herself marveling at how this boy seemed to drop things a lot.) His eyes lit up and immediately he was across the room and clasping her hand in his.

"I'm Minato," he introduced, and though it was the only thing he said and his face was as emotionless as ever, she could feel the delight emanating off of him.

Riichi wasn't sure whether to be amused or terrified.


	11. Friends O' Mine

_I have no words for how long this took me. Also since last working on this I've change from writing certain names with the 'ou' romanization to simply using 'o'. Hopefully that doesn't throw anyone off, though since most people write using only the 'o' I doubt it'll be much of a problem. Thank you for sticking with an unreliable author._

* * *

**Friends O' Mine**

So it was exceptionally weird for her to be currently sitting next to the person she had assaulted earlier that day. What was seriously unnerving was that the boy had never once looked away from her and he'd had her hand gripped in both of his so tightly she was losing circulation. The one time she'd tried to get it back he'd made a keening sound in the back of his throat and clutched at her even tighter than before. Riichi would have thought he was holding her hostage or something as equally dastardly had he not been emitting such an aura of delight that she was almost blinded by it. For how expressionless Minato Okamatchi had turned out to be, it was impossible not to admit that he was positively radiant at the moment.

After they had all calmed down, Shinjiro had forsaken making cracks about her current predicament to lecturing Akihiko about knocking before barging into other people's rooms. The boxer had basically ignored him, settling for staring at her and the blue-haired boy attached to her. He'd looked rather green about the whole thing though she wasn't sure why and so all she could do in response was give him pained and slightly apologetic smiles. Minato, for his part, couldn't seem to care less about anything other than staring intently at her face. Riichi was vastly uncomfortable with this entire situation. Had she been able to somehow slither out of the boy's death grip on her she would have attempted to slink out and race back to the safety of her own room. She was still trying to puzzle out how to make this plan a reality.

"What are you two, a couple of girls now," Shinjiro snorted. Riichi looked up to see him giving her a rather unamused scowl. She supposed it was her fault for bringing this chaos to him, but she had her own problems damnit and he was not helping.

Akihiko spoke up before she had a chance to. "Would you quit making cracks like that," he sighed. It was clear that he had to deal with this an awful lot. The girl almost felt sorry for him.

For some reason—of which she had no clue—Minato decided he needed to put his own two cents in as well. "Riichi isn't a girl," he announced. She didn't miss that he had forgotten to reaffirm his own gender. Maybe he was already used to that. When the rest of the group stared at him with mixtures of incredulity and surprise, he shrugged in response. "I checked."

The silence was physically painful.

The boxer was obviously made further uncomfortable by this revelation. "What do you mean you checked?" he croaked, sounding like he rather wished this was all just a bad dream.

Minato blinked. "I meant I checked," he repeated. He allowed one hand to release its grip on her and Riichi was briefly left with a feeling of relief. (Now if only she could get the other one to let go she'd be golden.) This was only momentary because without another word the boy had settled his hand back on its previous place on her chest. The girl felt the blood drain back out of her face. "It's flat," the boy said, echoing his words from earlier. The difference was that he only sounded _slightly_ disappointed this time.

Somewhat afraid that he'd find further need to make sure of himself, Riichi attempted to subtly angle her lower body away from him. That part of her was a little harder to disguise. Shinjiro thankfully seemed to think coming to her aid was more important than complaining about how much trouble she was putting him through because he stood up and tugged the boy's arm roughly away from her. "That's enough of that, we believe you already," he grunted.

Minato didn't seem too torn up about being manhandled. In fact the only response he had was to return his hand back to clutching hers. Riichi swallowed hard and tried to regain her color back. This was not good for her health. She knew he didn't mean any harm by it (at least she hoped he didn't) but being groped so many times in a day was beginning to wear on her. Boy or not this couldn't be normal.

"I think I have to-" she began, attempting to somehow weasel her way out.

Akihiko cut her off without much thought. "Is that why he punched you?" he addressed the bluenette again. The boy could barely be bothered to hum in response.

Another snort from the chef brought their attention back to him. "No wonder. I'd punch you too if you mistook me for a girl."

"I highly doubt that's a huge problem for you," Riichi snarled under her breath. They ignored her, save for Minato who squeezed her hand in what might have been his silent agreement.

Slightly more comfortable now that the original shock of the situation had worn off, Akihiko let out a loud sigh. "I'm guessing this means the kendo deal is off." He didn't look as depressed over this as he was implying himself to be. A sudden fire alit in his eyes and he focused it on her. "Minato said you had a great right hook. You know, you could use that in the boxing clu-"

Before he could finish his proposition it was the bluenette's turn to cut him off. "He's not joining," he announced with a finality that brooked no room for argument. Riichi wasn't sure whether that pinched look Akihiko was giving was because he'd been denied yet again, or that it was Minato who'd been the one to make the decision. "He's staying on the kendo team." His gaze was so determined that the girl at his side was almost inclined to simply go along with it.

That didn't completely quash her surprise though. "I am?" she asked. After socking him in front of the whole of the dojo she had figured none of them would stand to have her come back.

"He is?" Akihiko parroted.

Minato merely nodded silently. His gaze never left Akihiko's and it honestly seemed as if he were daring the senior to challenge him on this. By that expression he was getting in return, Minato had successfully silenced any further protests.

Shinjiro must have felt the need to be heard again because he made some sound in his throat that might have resembled a laugh. "Never thought he'd ever actually dump you Aki."

The senior in question went a curious shade of red. "Would you quit saying that kind of shit! It isn't like that damnit!" There might have been a mumbled, _'and I wasn't dumped_' somewhere in there, but Riichi's attention had been subtly torn away from the seniors' bickering.

Minato appeared to be sparkling. She couldn't have been positive, but there was something about the way his eyes were boring into her that indicated sheer delight. Riichi could honestly say she had never before met someone who could convey so much emotion without ever actually changing his expression. "What class are you in?" he asked.

The way he'd said it made the question seem so unimposing that she felt obligated to answer. "2-C," she replied immediately, only realizing belatedly that she wasn't yet sure if she even wanted him to know.

The sparkling seemed to have grown in intensity. "I'm next door in 2-B." She currently lacked the wits to remember that she had already known that. Instead, Riichi managed a nod and a shaky smile in reply. He leaned closer. "Let's eat lunch together tomorrow."

Riichi couldn't help but allow a small smile to surface. He reminded her a lot of some of the younger kids back at the orphanage. "I'd like that," she said, her tone dropping down into a sincere softness. It was kind of surprising to realize that she truly did mean it. The boy was alarmingly forward, but once you got around that he seemed really sweet. If nothing else he genuinely liked her that was for sure. (No one could shine that brightly if they were only making fun of a person.) Now if she could get him to stop touching her chest they'd be in serious business.

If the boy got any brighter she was going to go blind. "Tomorrow then," he assured her. The way he'd said it made it sound like parting words but Minato still refused to let go of her hand. Riichi was left unsure of whether she was allowed to pull away and beat a hasty retreat or if she should sit pretty and wait for him to go first.

She was saved when Shinjiro announced, "Alright, I'm not running a daycare here. Everyone out." The two juniors looked up in surprise. The chef had stood back up and was indicating the door with a rather fed up looking arm. Akihiko appeared as if he hadn't finished whatever he had been saying. His expression was a mixture of exasperated and unsure.

Minato released her hand and was up at once. He grabbed the boxer's sleeve lightly and tugged him towards the door. "Akihiko, let's go," he prodded. The senior sighed and allowed himself to be ushered toward the door.

Riichi picked herself up as well, but didn't move to leave until the other two had made their exit. She took a step towards the door, thought better of it, and then turned back to the room's owner. "Sorry about this," she mumbled, making a short bow as a show of respect. "I'll try and go somewhere else next time something happens."

Shinjiro snorted and waved an unconcerned hand. "It's fine, doesn't matter," he halfheartedly assured. "S'nothing to do with you."

That wasn't exactly what she had been expecting in response but the girl took it anyway. If she took his word on it then he was mad over something involving Akihiko. Riichi didn't know what he could have said in the few minutes she had been preoccupied with Minato, but then again it was his business and she didn't want to pry. She'd already given enough trouble as it was today. With another apology the girl took her leave.

oOo

It was late by the time she'd made her way back to her room. It had been entirely too long of a day, she decided when she was finally granted the sight of her door. All she wanted to do now was lay down and sleep; preferably for a few days.

As she got closer she heard the unmistakable sound of muttering from the other side of her door. Riichi let out a breath of relief. Ryoji was always good at helping people alleviate stress; having him back in the room already was unprecedented luck. She would have hummed in happiness had she not been so tired, instead Riichi opted to turn the doorknob with a silent giddy grin.

And then proceeded to narrowly miss braining her roommate with the door.

Ryoji yelped in surprise and Riichi was yanked forward as he desperately pulled at the door in an attempt to bat the imposing object away from his body. The girl threw out an arm to brace herself against whatever she might hit in her fall, which ended up being her roommate. Ryoji was therefore knocked off-balance and only saved himself from sprawling backwards by clutching wildly at Riichi's extended arm. It took the two of them a good three minutes before they were fully stable; each of them having tugged the other off-balance again in their attempts to steady themselves.

By the time she was safely on her feet Riichi was flushed and still somewhat afraid that she was going to fall over at any moment. "Rii-kun, you okay?" She vaguely heard Ryoji's concerns and responded with some sort of flailing hand motion and a mumbled assurance that was so garbled it was nigh impossible to understand any of it. Riichi felt the boy relax and she warily looked up to catch his expression. He wore an alarmingly bright smile. "You have very good timing you know. I was just about to head out for snacks, and I was feeling kind of bad leaving Junpei-kun here alone." The girl's gaze shot up to scan the room. Sure enough, Junpei was sitting over in Ryoji's desk chair, glaring holes into her roommate's shirt. Ryoji patted her shoulder gratefully. "Why don't you keep him company for me?" Without waiting for a reply he slipped around her and headed for the exit.

Riichi scrambled to grab a hold of him before he could elude her. "Wait a min—Ryoji!"she hissed, vainly attempting to convince him not to leave her alone with a potentially homicidal friend. All she got in response was the wood of the door, mocking her in its silence.

There was a long moment of tension, and then with a sigh the two occupants simultaneously voiced, "That rat bastard."

She didn't know whether to be pleased or disturbed that even when they were fighting she and Junpei were in sync. Whatever the case though the two of them were now on their own and the tension was thick enough to feel like it was strangling her. Riichi briefly considered finding something urgent she needed to do out of the room. That urge was squashed when she reminded herself that this was _her_ room not Junpei's and therefore she shouldn't be the one feeling awkward in this situation. So, having successfully convinced herself that she wasn't ridiculously uncomfortable, the girl marched to her desk and deposited herself in her chair. She belatedly realized that she didn't have anything to do, and so had to settle for pretending to busy herself with math homework that had been completed two days ago. The pained silence continued for a good ten minutes before either of them thought to break it.

"It seriously doesn't take this long to grab food," Junpei snorted.

Riichi answered on instinct. "You know that's not what he ended up doing." She hadn't realized she'd spoken until she had finished and by then it was far too late. For a moment the girl thought she was just going to be ignored. She was pleasantly surprised when Junpei's voice piped up in response.

"Probably got a call from some chick," he growled. She was happy to note that his irritation wasn't directed at her but their friend. "Hey," he paused and it took Riichi looking up at him to get him to continue with his train of thought. "How often has he been going on dates with random girls recently?"

The girl had to take a minute to think about her answer. She didn't really pride herself on her knowledge of what Ryoji did when they weren't hanging out together. It was part wanting to put a bit of distance between them (because really, she was getting dangerously close) and part attempt at letting the boy have some privacy. Lord knew she needed some of that in her own life. "I'm pretty sure he's toned it down," she conceded. "He's had to take off for that kind of stuff a lot less recently."

Junpei's scowl had turned into something that greatly resembled disbelief. "Dude," he whistled, "You've got him whipped."

She blushed despite herself. "I do not," the girl bit back. "I think he's just figured out he doesn't have to please every girl who believes he owes them a date." It had sounded far more believable in her head. Junpei gave her a pointed look and Riichi had to throw up her hands in exasperation. "Alright fine, I've been chasing girls away at the front gates." It wasn't something she was proud of. Ever since the beginning of the year his fangirls had been swarming about the front of the school building. It hadn't been so bad until some of them had gotten it in their heads to start ambushing him at the entrance to their dorm. Even that hadn't been enough to finally set her off edge, but when they started looking for her as well in an effort to wheedle out her roommate's secrets she'd thought enough was enough. It had been a mild form of revenge when she'd started driving them off with snarls and threats of throwing food scraps at them (threats that, had they had enough sense, the girls would have realized were completely unfounded because as an experienced orphan Riichi couldn't stand to waste food even if the method of wasting it would have been completely worth it).

The boy's expression was fighting between disappointment and amusement. She wasn't sure which of them irritated her more. "Could you be anymore jealous?" he scoffed. It was a rhetorical question, but even if it hadn't been she would have responded for sheer fury. "Anyway, I heard you got into kendo." The question took her so off-guard that Riichi found herself momentarily stupefied. Junpei didn't seem to mind her silence. He was leaning back in his chair casually, gaze going anywhere but on her and looking almost uncomfortable in his own skin.

_Ah_, she thought. He missed this as much as she did. Riichi felt a small smile tug at her lips. "Yeah, I think I'm gonna stick with it. They all seem like pretty nice guys."

Junpei fidgeted. "S'that so?" he managed to mumble.

It was a terribly cruel thing to do, but Junpei'd made her all sorts of distressed over the last few days and she thought it was high time she returned the favor. So Riichi hummed a noncommittal answer and said nothing more. She almost felt bad sitting there watching the boy squirm, but the feeling of revenge was so sweet that it smothered any lingering guilt. She allowed him to stew for another good six minutes before she relented.

"Hey Junpei," she called. Not having expected her to speak again the boy jumped. "I'm sorry. For whatever happened back during break. I'd say something more, but I honestly can't remember what it is I should be apologizing for." It wasn't an excuse so much as it was the truth. She wasn't going to lie to him (he'd catch her quick enough) and it was obvious that she wasn't going to find out her misstep without some overly elaborate and unnecessary methods.

A loud sigh was all she got in response. Junpei sat forward and scratched his neck awkwardly. "It's all good man," he gave. "I should have been paying better attention to you. I can't let you take all the blame." He looked up at her, awkward smile attempting to dominate his face. She couldn't help but give one herself. "We good?"

Riichi nodded once, her smile turning warm. "Good," she assured. The thing about Junpei was that he always owned up to his mistakes. It might take a while (and lord had she'd had to wait a _while_ on occasion) but he wasn't one to let someone else take the blame when he realized he was in the wrong. It was one of the things she liked so much about the boy. It was hard to come by that kind of stuff in a guy. Now that the mushy stuff was over the girl felt herself relax. "Where's Ryo-kun when you need him?" she griped. "I'm getting hungry."

Her companion let out a loud guffaw. "I know right? He's slower than you." She puffed out her cheeks in a pout which only proceeded to make him laugh harder. "Let's eat his snacks too." His smile was positively devilish.

Riichi grinned back so hard her cheeks hurt. "But of course."

oOo

She hadn't remembered her promise to eat lunch with a certain bluenette until he was standing in front of her desk the next day. Class had only been out for two minutes at the most and she had already found her vision being obscured by the figure of Minato Okamatchi. An odd hush had fallen over the class; she was pretty sure she knew why.

"Come," he spoke. The way he said it didn't make it feel like an order, but there was something in his tone that made her want to obey him anyway. That was why Riichi found herself nodding and standing on shaky legs before she knew what she was doing. Next to her Ryoji crowed in delight.

"I didn't know you two were friends!" he cried. His voice was what brought her out of her strange stupor and it was only then that Riichi realized she had allowed Minato to grasp her hand again. Torn between ripping her hand out of Minato's and figuring out what Ryoji was so excited about, the girl ended up standing there like an idiot. "This is great, I knew you guys would get along well."

Minato, to her unending surprise, smiled back at the boy. "Hello Ryo," he greeted. Ryoji didn't seem to find this action as mystifying as the rest of the class because he merely continued to smile back. "Usual spot, if you want to join."

Ryoji obviously understood this far better than she had. He nodded once before standing up and placing a hand on her shoulder. If he noticed her light jump he didn't show it. "I have to go take care of something first, and then I'll join you," he chirped. And then he was out of the class and gone; gone just as any of her hopes for escape.

Either oblivious to her discomfort or merely ignoring it, Minato gently tugged on her arm. "Let's go," he supplied before leading her out into the hallway.

It was in front of the door that they almost ran into the oncoming figure of Junpei. The boy gaped openly at the two of them as Minato nodded his head in what might have been an apology and pulled her away without a word. It was all Riichi could do to glance back and mouth 'sorry' at him with an expression that she hoped conveyed how confused she was by this all as well. She didn't get to stick around to make sure he understood because the bluenette was not stopping for anything. Riichi briefly contemplated why everyone around her seemed to enjoy treating her like a rag doll.

Perhaps it was the excitement of everything, but it took them getting to a completely different wing of the building before the girl realized that they were going in the opposite way of the dining hall. "Um," she piped up, hesitating slightly in her uncertainty of what exactly she was supposed to say. "I'm sorry but, I didn't bring a lunch," she finally settled on.

Minato didn't stop, but he did look back to fix her with a rather meaningful stare. Meaningful in that he appeared to think she knew something she didn't. She couldn't have been more confused. "You don't need one," he answered. Riichi didn't know whether to be offended or astonished. Was he telling her she needed to go without eating? (For a brief moment she thought maybe he was telling her she was fat, but then she remembered that she was supposed to be a guy and guys normally didn't give a shit about that kind of thing amongst each other.) Whatever the case his gaze was back forward and she had lost her chance to question him.

It didn't seem to matter though because within minutes she was tugged into an unused classroom and came face-to-face with the two seniors she had just been with last night. Riichi was beginning to think something was conspiring against her; whether it be gods or this blue-haired boy was still undecided.

Akihiko appeared as surprised as she was by their sudden entrance. Shinjiro merely looked up with mild curiosity then seemed to have gotten all the answers he needed and proceeded to lose all interest. Her earlier concern about food was dashed at once when she saw the large spread across the few desks that had been left in the room.

"Cooking class," Minato answered her unspoken question. He tugged lightly on her hand and led her closer in towards the food.

Apparently having gotten over his shock far quicker than her, Akihiko took his chance to chuckle at her wide-eyed expression. "Shinji likes using us as guinea pigs for his recipes."

The boy in question snorted from his position of dishing out something that looked like casserole but was far more elaborate than anything she'd ever been served. Her mouth watered just thinking about it. "I'd rather have you idiots eat it then let it go to waste. Besides, if you weren't eating this you'd be eating that junk in the cafeteria." Riichi wouldn't exactly have called the cafeteria food junk. It was fancier than most of the stuff she got at home—any home. She wasn't prepared to correct Shinjiro though, especially after she found him shoving the plate he had finished filling into her chest and ordering, "Take it." She did, with pleasure.

It took her a moment to recognize that Minato hadn't taken his eyes off of her for a minute. "Okamatchi-san," she tried.

"Minato," he interrupted her. She stared at him blankly before realizing that he wanted her to call him by that.

Riichi fidgeted awkwardly, unsure of a lot of things in that moment. "Minato…san?" she tried again. He looked happier, though there was still that slight slip of disappointment.

Akihiko cleared his throat. "Minato, want to try giving the guy some space to eat? Come here and grab your own." The bluenette looked torn for nothing more than a second before he turned around and trotted towards the boxer and his waiting plate. Riichi couldn't help but liken him to that of a puppy, especially when Akihiko reached over and ruffled the boy's hair affectionately.

She glanced about the room for a second and then decided to seat herself closest to the door. She didn't think she was going to need to run, but you could never be too careful.

The chef gave her a knowing look from his position of spooning potatoes onto Akihiko's plate. Riichi pretended she hadn't seen.

Feeling as if she needed to contribute (and thinking it might be rude if she started eating before the rest of them) Riichi timidly piped up. "So, is this something you guys do every day?"

The silver haired senior shrugged amiably. "More or less," he replied, while Minato stole apple slices from his plate. "Though we normally aren't treated to this much food." He grinned, as if the thought excited him greatly. He was a boxer, she remembered. It occurred to her that having all this food was a god send for him. "This is great, I've got a match today and I was a little worried I wouldn't get enough protein."

Hearing this it was Riichi's turn to give Shinjiro a look. The senior pointedly ignored her, instead snorting a quick, "Lucky coincidence."

Akihiko nodded towards her own plate. "You should grab more. You're on the kendo team now, you're going to need to eat. Those scrawny arms aren't going to hold a bokken very steady." She flushed in response, and then sullenly shoved a forkful of casserole in her mouth to escape from having to answer.

Silently Minato seated himself next to her (and really, she'd half expected it at this point). He gazed at her for a few moments and then without a word placed one of his apples on her plate. "They're healthy," he voiced when she stared at him in confusion.

"I'm here!" a familiar voice called from the entrance to the room. Riichi twisted her neck to look over her shoulder and locked eyes with a grinning Ryoji. "Rii-kun, you're really here." He'd seen her being dragged out, so she wasn't exactly sure why he'd questioned her being here at all. Maybe he thought she'd flee when she got the chance. The boy's smile wavered slightly when he realized Shinjiro was staring at him. "A-aragaki-senpai, you're here as well."

The bruenette held the look for a minute before breaking contact and motioning towards the table. "Hurry and grab something and sit down," he grumbled.

The boy immediately did as he was told, scurrying to throw something together and almost launching into the seat on the other side of her. "I thought you came here all the time," she leaned over and whispered.

Ryoji gave a sheepish grin. "Not for lunch. I come hang out with Minato-kun here after school sometimes." She gave a short 'ah' in acknowledgement. It didn't make his discomfort any less funny though. "Anyways," he coughed. "I'm so happy you and Minato-kun know each other now. You two are really similar, I knew you'd get along fine." She had to resist questioning what exactly it was about the two of them that was similar. He was beaming so wondrously at her that she didn't have the heart to refute anything.

Next to her Minato gave a short nod. "Riichi's a good guy," he agreed. "I like him."

For a minute she was extremely flattered.

"I've never seen him warm up to someone so quickly," Akihiko voiced, seating himself in front of them. "Normally he ignores you for a few weeks before he starts talking."

Shinjiro sniffed "That was just you, Aki."

The boxer made a wounded sound.

Riichi watched the four other boys interacting and it hit her hard at that moment that she was finally starting to feel like she had a place here.


End file.
